


For Our Dying Souls

by FrenchiestOfTheFry



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, M/M, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), POV Original Character, original - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:22:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22805482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrenchiestOfTheFry/pseuds/FrenchiestOfTheFry
Summary: This is an ongoing roleplay between me and a friend! Hope you enjoy~





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All characters are original. If they sound or act like some other character, it is coincidental. Fan art would be amazing- if you do fan art, please email me at hmarti9215@greenvilleschools.us

For most people, crawling through air ducts is considered a pitiful and pointless task. As for Ray, renowned astronomy teacher of doom, it was an art form. He was excellent at avoiding being caught, all until he dropped into Felicity Fellen’s classroom. It was a wonder he didn’t fall onto any students, but her desk was a bad enough fall as it was.  
Felicity was caught off guard by the man falling onto her desk. “Oh my!” She gasped, jumping back and out of her chair. Where had he come from? She wondered, all while trying not to laugh. “U-uhm, excuse me sir-, but uhm, w-what-?” Felicity couldn’t form any actual sentences from the sudden shock of a human falling from the ceiling and onto a new teacher’s desk, her desk.  
“Ugh, sorry,” Ray mumbled, rubbing his head where it had collided with the desk. “That doesn’t usually happen.”  
He looked up, meeting eyes with the alarmed woman. She appeared to be new, which would prompt most people to welcome said newbie. Ray, however, was not most people, instead choosing to stand on the desk, studying her, “What subject do you teach?”  
“Oh- uhm,” She looked up, why was he standing on her desk? Nope. Not going to wonder. “I teach history.” She replied, nervously tugging at the collar of her shirt. She wasn’t expecting for someone to fall from the air ducts and into her classroom. “Why were you, uhm, in the air ducts?” Felicity asked.  
Ray crouched back down, squinting at Felicity, “Would you believe I was checking for graffiti?” He glanced down at her teacher ID, noting the name: Felicity Fellen. Pleasant alliteration! Ray would keep it in mind.  
Felicity snorted. “Graffiti? In a 5 foot wide air duct that is about 8 feet off the ground?” She shook her head with a laugh. “No, I wouldn’t.”  
“Fair enough!” He jumped with impressive height, barely managing to grasp the edge of the open air duct. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I should probably get back to planning.”  
“W-wait a second-” She said, furrowing her brow. “Why are you actually clambering around in the air vents? And what is your name-?” Felicity added the last bit so she could possibly report to the district.  
Ray heaved himself into the vents, peering down at her to reply, “I’m up here because I’m bored. You should try it sometime!” He almost left before remembering the other question. “The name’s Ray Boeman. I teach astronomy a few classrooms down.” Ray offered a cheeky grin before beginning to crawl back the way he came.  
Felicity laughed a tiny bit at the humor of the situation. “Well, that was something.” She muttered to herself quietly and began cleaning up the mess he had created.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All characters are original! Fan art is appreciated, please send it to hmarti9215@greenvilleschools.us!

Lunch time was quite possibly the most irritating time of the day for Ray. The cafeteria was loud, cluttered, and smelled like whatever garbage the cooks dished out. The only redeeming thing about it was intimidating the students that got out of hand. Of course, one more factor was added to the equation when he met eyes with Ms. Fellen herself.  
Felicity looked up from the book she was reading and met the eyes of Mr. Ray Boeman. “Oh! Hello, again.” She smiled at the strange, but pleasant, teacher. She dog-eared her page and sat down the book.  
“Uh, hey,” he mumbled, feeling oddly embarrassed. To be fair, the only time they’d met before was through his own error. “How’s school life treating you?” Ray sat down across from her, clasping his hands. He felt extremely, unbelievably awkward.  
“Oh- well, I guess it’s ok. I love teaching these little br- young adults.” She coughed awkwardly in her hand. “Some students, though, are a bit inappropriate.” She said, frowning and pulling at her collar nervously.  
Ray let an easy smile appear on his face, “Lucky for you, I’ve got quite a few techniques to keep them quiet...if you’re interested.”  
She might’ve been thinking of that odd clapping maneuver teachers used in elementary school, but Ray was thinking more along the lines of strobe lights and air horns. Anything to make the students confused and alarmed.  
“Oh! T-that would be nice.” She said, wincing as she heard a wolf-whistle. Felicity was attractive. She had long, fair pink hair and light green eyes. She had smooth skin, clear of any marks or acne- besides the 2-inch scar across her right cheek. To top off her looks, she had a decent amount of bust. Some might see it as a gift, but the amount of attention she got was annoying.  
Despite the disruption not coming from his own class, Ray felt obligated to return order. He stood up, searching for the whistling student...Oh, God, it was Chance. That child caused all sorts of trouble. Ray had a tight grin on his face as he said, “Chance, buddy, I know I look good in this tie, but the attention is too much. I might just blush.”  
A good amount of laughter took over the cafeteria, and Ray couldn’t help feeling smug. He had most of the student body wrapped around his finger, willing to do anything to avoid his wrath. Thus, it was always a treat for them when someone got called out. Ray sat back down, acting as if that wasn’t a ridiculous thing to do.  
Felicity’s face was slightly red. Suddenly, she let out her laughter. “That was gold.” She said, shaking her head. It was nice of him to do that. “So, what are those tips to get the students to behave?” She asked, tipping her head a bit.  
“Well, it’s difficult to put into words,” Ray replied, thinking for a few moments. “Tell you what...I could show you all of the different mechanisms after school.”  
“Ah! That’d be great!” She said, giving him a smile. She opened her mouth to say something else, but then the bell rang. Lunch was over. “See you later, Mr. Boeman.” She said, standing and leading her class out of the lunchroom.


	3. Chapter 3

It was 3:30 and her final student left a couple minutes ago. Felicity walked down the hall to Ray Boeman’s classroom. She had this weird feeling knotting up her stomach as she neared his classroom. She shrugged it away (it’s dat jesusy vibes he got xDD) and knocked on the door before peeking her head in.  
“Ah, miss Fellen,” Ray called out from behind his desk. He spun around in slow circles on his swivel chair, appearing very relaxed. “I’m so glad you’re here. One quick question: do you have any symptoms of epilepsy?”  
“Oh, no. Why do you ask. . ?” She replied, stepping inside, her hands clasped behind her back in a very formal manner. It was a habit she picked up from her mentor. Also from going to private schools at a young age. Anyways, seeing Mr. Boem- Ray so nonchalant made her feel calm. uwu  
Ray simply replied with a manic grin. The classroom was decorated...oddly, she noticed. It wasn’t cluttered, but the things were placed in a way just strange enough to feel off. There was a poster on the wall for some obscure TV show, along with many shelves containing books and the like.  
Then Felicity quickly realized why there were so many objects lining the walls...they were there to hide the many strobe lights that Ray activated with the press of a button. It was as if the Sun itself had entered the school.  
“Oh!” Felicity gasped, quickly closing her eyes and covering them with her hands. It was bright. “That’ll get students’ attention-!” She laughed nervously. When the lights were turned off, Felicity blinked rapidly to try and get her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkening of the room light. “That seems to be pretty effective, but, er, I don’t think it’s my style.” She smiled.  
Ray jumped up, reaching up onto a shelf to grab something, “No? What about…” A sudden loud noise filled the room, one she recognized to be an air horn. He kept an air horn in his classroom!  
“Ooh, I like that.” She said, laughing. “Where did you get that one?’ Felicity asked, cocking her head to the side a bit. (ewe my lines are short-)  
Ray thought about it for a few moments, “Well, actually, it was meant to be for trivia days. Whenever someone gets one wrong, I use it. However...it does prove to be useful when students get out of hand.”  
Felicity nodded, laughing softly at the image that appeared in her mind. Ray was entertaining. She was happy to have him as a co-worker. Getting close to people, though, wasn’t a good thing as an AU traveler. She didn’t exactly like re-depressing people by dying. Though, she could always use the ‘I’m Moving! Sayonara!’ trick and stay in touch with her vict- clients. No need to think about it now, since she doesn’t know exactly whom her client is. Ray didn’t seem depressed or anything. He seemed a bit. . . What was the word? She couldn’t think of it at the moment. Wait- maybe Ray knew about her client. “Uhm, I don’t want you to think I’m, er, crazy or anything- but do you believe in, like, angels and devils and stuff?” She asked nervously.  
She might have expected laughter or maybe a shrug, but instead Ray gave the most serious expression he could’ve given, “I do indeed.”  
He wondered, then, where that question had come from. Felicity Fellen was an interesting character, but she’d never asked him anything like that. Little did she know he believed in such things because he’d fallen from Heaven himself...Ray felt himself get resentful, so he put a stop to it by changing the subject, “Why did you come here, anyway? To this school.”  
How the tables turned. Seems that Felicity was wrong. She could feel his uneasiness. Maybe he was the client. “Oh- well, t-this was the closest school to my, uhm, home. Also, my friend suggested this school- he went here when he was younger. . .” She replied. It was a messy lie, but maybe he wouldn’t notice?  
Raising his eyebrows, Ray watched her squirm, “How old is your friend?” The school wasn’t very old, built maybe ten years before. It was a high school, and Felicity looked young, so Ray would give her the benefit of the doubt.  
“Oh, he’s, how old is Minus…” She said, furrowing her brow. He actually was older than her- in AU terms, so he would be naturally older here. “I think he is, uhm, 29?” She said, wincing at the amount of lie she could detect in her voice. What was she doing? She needed to man-up. She couldn’t give away any hint that made her seem suspicious. “I haven’t seen him in awhile- I messaged him on FaceBook about my job offers, and he suggested here.” She added the last sentence cheerily.  
The man was 29? Facebook? Ray pursed his lips, studying her. She looked a bit less nervous, but she appeared to have something to hide. He sat down on his desk, studying her, “Why are you lying to me?” A couple thousand years on Earth gave him a bit of perspective on lying, the way people squirmed and looked off to the side as they told him falsehoods. But in Felicity’s case, she seemed trustworthy, at least to him. So, she had something he shouldn’t know…  
Oh no, he was onto her. “Well- er, you see-” She stuttered. She had never been in this situation before. None of her clients or friends on AUs ever suspected her of lying. Well, except for Castor- but we don’t talk about him. Suddenly, the perfect thing popped in her head. Felicity looked at the ground guiltily. “Well, this is the only school that offered me a job. . . .” She said quietly.  
Ray tilted his head, considering this. He felt he should seem sympathetic, so he gave her shoulder an awkward pat, “Of course. I’m sorry for pressing. It was none of my business.”  
She let out a mental sigh of relief. “It’s ok! I apologise for lying.” She replied, offering a smile. She’d have to practice more with Minus. She was getting bad at lying. A few hundred years of lies should have built her up.   
Grinning, Ray jumped back up, strolling to the back of his classroom to pick up...a party popper? He decided she would appreciate the change in subject, “See this? I’ve got about fifty of them under the trimming of this wall. Kids never see it coming, and all it takes is me stepping on a switch behind my desk. Boom, confetti everywhere. I’d show you, but it’s messy.”  
“Oooh, that sounds exciting.” Felicity laughed, glancing around at all the poppers. The change in subject was a relief, but the awkward tension was still buzzing in the air.  
“Not only that, but…” Ray looked out the window, his smile fading. “Oh, no. Why’d it have to be today?”  
A black car pulled into the parking lot, a few bulky men stepping out. They looked almost like CIA agents or the like, but that couldn’t be it. Ray was slightly panicked, looking around the room for a hiding place. Of course, him being his infinitely inconsiderate self, he didn’t explain to her what was going on.  
“Hm? What’s today?” She asked, confused, and looked out the window. She got action movie vibes from those guys.   
Ray didn’t answer right away, moving up to the closed window to shout, “Why can’t you leave me alone?!” Then he turned to look at Felicity, trying to smile. “It’s, uh, just that...they found me? And they’re impossibly annoying, and I didn’t want to pull you into this…?”  
One of the men reached the window to stare through at them, while the others went for the front door of the school. Ray glared through the window, looking at the impassive man as if he’d kicked a puppy. Without warning or kindness, the agent smashed the window in. Ray looked like he was about to scream, pulling Felicity away from the broken glass.  
“wAhG-” Felicity gasped, covering her face with her arms. “Holy shit-!” Felicity yelled, falling on her bottom, hitting her head on the corner of a desk. “Omph.” She groaned.  
A flash of light brighter than the strobes appeared where the glass once was, and a man appeared in its place, hanging upside down with his legs wrapped around the curtain rod. Somehow, he was light enough to stay. The man was slight, with wings on his back that together were larger than his entire body. He grinned, “Hi!”  
“Oh my God-” Felicity said. Did she find her client? So quick? It’s only been, what, 3 days? “Well that was quicker than I expected. . .” She murmured, standing up.  
“Azrael, you idiot!” Ray snapped. “You do realize you’re not allowed to show yourself like that, right? Are you trying to give someone a heart attack?!”  
Sticking out his tongue, Azrael replied, “The rules don’t apply to me, Ray-Ray. You know that. Our daddy’s sent me out on business, and that business is you!~”  
Ray actually blushed, whether from anger or humiliation he wasn’t sure, “Get out. Get out of my classroom right now, or I swear to God-”  
Lightning struck the blue sky, and Ray screamed up at the ceiling, “Shut up! It’s an expression!” When the sudden storm calmed down, Ray turned back to Azrael, “What do you want?”  
The angel pursed his lips, looking at Ray as if he was a bug, “To take you home, duh. What else do you think I’ve been doing for the past thousand years? Gotta say, teaching doesn’t suit you. You look weird in a tie.”  
Felicity opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. So Ray was in on this too. “Uhm, what the hell is going on here. . . .-”  
Azrael dropped down onto his feet, approaching Felicity, “Oh, she’s pretty. Is that why you’re here, Raphael? To flirt with mortal women?” He turned his attention back to her. “Well, you see, dear, you’ve been duped. Ray is an angel like me...or, WAS, until he fell and was too lazy to get back up.”  
“How dare you call me a mortal, you smurf. By God the next time a client calls me a mortal I will wring their necks.” Felicity snapped, putting a hand on her hip and poking him in the chest.  
Looking down at the hand on his chest, Azrael’s face lit up, a crazy glint in his eyes, “Oh, oh my. Sweetheart, I like you. Are you one of them? Filthy little devils sent up here by Lucy...nah, not you. You’re too pure, I think. Anyway, back to the matter at hand!”  
“Azzie, do not make me hurt you,” Ray growled, stepping in between the two. “Leave her be, and go away. I can kill you again if that’ll convince you.”  
“Oh, big bad angel,” Azrael purred, smirking. “What’re you gonna do, bite me? I might like it. No, if you kill me, I’ll just come back. You don’t have that benefit.”  
“Listen here you little shit- don’t ignore me.” She said, frowning. “Call me filthy one more Goddamn time-”   
Azrael pushed Ray to the side, looking intently at Felicity, “I did take that statement back, you know. I suppose you aren’t mortal, though. Since none of us are human, I guess we can stop the charade. Raphael, why are you posing as a human? Your wings must be aching.”  
Annoyed at being pushed aside, Ray replied stiffly, “That’s not your problem. Now, for the last time, go away! If I get my wings out right now, they’ll be covered in weapons, which is how I left them in case you came back. Felicity Fellen, you have a lot of explaining to do, but for now, you’ve got to leave.”  
Felicity held up her hands and started to back out of the classroom, but she bumped into something. Someone. As she turned, she saw one of the big CIA looking guys blocking the door. “You’re going nowhere.” The man growled in a deep, rumbling voice. “Oop-” Felicity said, stepping backwards. She decided to drop the sophisticated, smart and innocent teacher act. It was a pain to keep up anyways. “Get out of my way, gorilla-man.” She said. The man frowned and grabbed the collar of her shirt and held onto her. “No. I am ordered to keep you here.”  
“Sorry, Felicity!” Azrael called in a sing-song voice. “I’m not going to let a pretty little specimen like yourself get away from me. Arnold, I’d tell you to seize her, but she’s already been seized.”  
Ray was overwhelmed with a large mix of emotions. He felt angry at his kin, anxious for his new friend, riddled with bitterness, and very outnumbered. Because of this rush of feelings, it was only natural that his wings made their way out of the Second Realm. Ray hadn’t been lying-his wings were wrapped around an abundance of weapons.  
“Oh, look at you, brother dear!” Azrael cooed. “I always loved those wings of yours. I could just hang them on my mantle.”  
Felicity watched as Ray stretched out his wings. They were magnificent. Wait- does that mean Ray could be her client. Argh- this is too confusing! She thought, still struggling in Arnold’s grasp. “Hey! Shrimp!” She growled at Azrael. She didn’t know what else to say after that, she was kind of out of insults by now.  
“Felicity Fellen.” Azrael tried the name out. “Fel-ih-city Fell-en. I like your name, sweets. It’s a shame you’ve picked out Raphael for the time being. I guess I could change your mind…”  
Ray smirked, slowly reaching for the knife settled under one of his feathers. That was Azrael’s only weakness- with a mind as scattered as his, he would often forget the objective. While Azrael moved towards Felicity, Ray struck, slashing him in the wing where he knew it hurt. Azrael yelped before turning on Ray, smiling with a venomous attitude. Then, the boys began to fight.  
While they fought, Felicity began struggling in Arnold’s grasp. He was strong, she’d give him that, but she was smaller, and an experienced fighter. She hasn’t wasted a day training since she was a little girl- and that was a few decades back. She twisted her neck so she could get a good angle on his hand. Then she bit.  
Arnold cursed and struck Felicity across her face, causing her lip to start bleeding- but also knocking her back into the middle of the fight. It was unfortunately the moment that Azrael attacked with his sharpest blade that Felicity escaped Arnold’s arms, and instead of hitting Ray, it buried itself into her back.  
Felicity felt a bright pain in her back, right between her shoulder blades. She gasped and looked at Ray. Anger flitted through her, but it was weak as she fell weak. Felicity stumbled forward towards Ray, collapsing. She hated dying. It was the worst part about this job. And when it happened before she completed her assignment. It was a hassle to explain how she was alive when she came back to that AU.  
Ray was a little more than upset, but Azrael was simply resentful. “Why do you have to ruin everything?” Azrael whined, crouching down to check for a pulse. Felicity was dead. “I was going to keep her…”  
“You bastard!” Ray spread his wings and knocked his brother over, holding a knife to his neck. “Can’t I just live in peace? You always do this!”  
The door suddenly burst open, and Arnold fell to the ground, bleeding, Felicity stood on his dying body, wearing different clothing. She wore an orange tee and jeans. “I kind of enjoy having two hot heaven-sent guys fight and get angry at my death. But I am pissed that I was fucking killed, so that ruins the mood.”  
Ray gasped, turning around to face her. In that time, Azrael took the distraction to tackle him, squishing his wings against his back. Then Azrael got up, brushed himself off, and approached Felicity.  
Felicity sliced through the air with her murder weapon and reached in a hole it had created. A hole in the time and space continuum. She pulled out a metal staff and tossed the knife across the room, wedging it in the wall.  
“Feisty,” Azrael muttered, letting his eyes wander a little. “I like it.”  
“AZRAEL!” Ray shouted from his place on the floor. “Leave her alone, you disgusting pervert!”  
Felicity frowned and lifted her staff and whacked Azrael on the top of his head. “Eyes up here buddy.”  
This appeared to have been a mistake, as the pain from the metal staff only pleased Azrael further. “Oh, Felicity. You’re such a joy to be around, and I’ve only known you for about three minutes. Maybe I should just leave Ray here and take you with me…”  
“Touch me and you die.” She said, edging around Azrael to Ray. She crouched down to him. “Are you ok. . ?” She asked, her voice softened dramatically. Like a mother scolding a child and soothing the sick one.  
“He squished my wings,” Ray muttered, wrinkling his nose. “Please tell me you’re not even tempted to consider his offer.”  
“Of course not.” She scoffed, helping him up. She kept an eye on Azrael, who was watching them with an amused expression.  
“Oh, but you were,” Azrael purred from his place near the door. “You were absolutely thinking about it, and I don’t blame you. We’re quite the charmers, you and I. Raphael not included, of course.”  
“Shut up, Azrael,” Ray grumbled.  
“Oh please.” Felicity laughed. “Don’t flatter yourself.” She said, slicing the air behind them, causing a portal to open up. This wasn’t an out of AU portal, just a Place Portal. She nudged Ray into it.  
Azrael gave her a feral grin, eyes dancing with possible insanity, “I don’t have to. It’s only the truth, my dear. I would’ve taken you back to mine, but it appears you’re pushing my brother out of the equation. How considerate of you.”  
Felicity rolled her eyes and stepped back, right into the portal. With a snap, she closed the continuum. Turning to Ray, who had made himself at home on her couch. “What the fuck just happened?” She asked. One thing the Council doesn’t tell the AUTs is what they are going to be getting into when they go on a mission. Unless the possibility of a Voider, ugly creatures seeking out to destroy the lives of AUTs. Felicity wasn’t expecting sexy angle dudes to be her job. But she wasn’t complaining. She was still annoyed that she had actually slightly, in the back of her mind, considered Azrael’s request. She shook her head. This AU was too confusing. She needed help. “What the hell did I just witness?” She repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Spill the tea, what family drama do you two have?”  
Ray retracted his wings, cringing from the pain, “Oh, lord, where do I begin?” He leaned back, sighing to himself. “I fell from Heaven about 2000 years ago, making me the youngest fallen angel there is. Azrael, that crazy bastard, somehow hasn’t fallen and instead uses his time to hunt me down. They clearly want me to repent.”  
“Repent?” She repeated, heading into the kitchen. “Like, re-become an angel or something?” Felicity took down some mugs. “Coffee?” (wru?) As Felicity started the coffee, she went through a list of lies that she could tell. Especially since she had to use a portal. Do they do things like that in this AU? This was too confusing.   
“Yes,” Ray muttered, agreeing to both. “While we’re on the topic of repenting, I think it’s become abundantly clear that you’re not human. Care to elaborate?”  
She opened her mouth, then closed it. Thank God, though, that there were three sharp knocks against the front door. “Do you mind getting that?” She said nervously- pouring his cup of coffee. Wait, she’s only been on this planet for 3 days, whom could it be?  
Ray stood up, crossing the room with purpose. He opened the door without looking outside, realizing as an afterthought that he probably looked very ruffled.  
A man, about the size of Felicity, gave Ray a smile. He had black hair and dark gray eyes- he was also wearing a suit. “Hey Cit- who are you?” Minus asked, confused. This wasn’t who he thought was going to open the door.  
“Ray Boeman,” he replied, leaning against the doorframe. “Should I let you in, or are you a trained assassin like I’ve been taught to expect?” Ray wondered what the man thought of him, seeing his ripped shirt and the tie thrown over his shoulder from fighting Azrael. It probably looked like he was fighting Felicity, or perhaps doing something else...he wasn’t sure how the man would react.  
“Is, uhm, is City here?” He asked, studying the man. He looked ruff- and Minus’s mind went to dark places. “Who is it?” Felicity said, setting the mugs on the coffee table. She walked over to the door. “Oh God.” Felicity groaned.  
Ray snorted, deciding to let them talk without him. He walked over to the couch, sitting back down. Running his fingers through his messy hair, Ray frowned to himself. If Azrael hadn’t showed up, maybe he would’ve had a nice day overall. Instead, his perfectly calculated appearance was turned upside down. He didn’t appreciate the feeling.  
“What do you want?” Felicity asked in a hushed whisper, glancing at Ray. “Nevo sensed distress and practically attacked me.” Minus shrugged. Felicity sighed and explained what happened to Minus. “And I don’t know what to tell him.” Felicity said. Minus laughed and headed into the living room. “So, angel guy, what’s your name?” Minus asked, sitting across from Ray.  
“I told you,” Ray mumbled, “Ray Boeman. Or do you mean my real one?”  
“Doesn’t matter.” Minus waved a hand airily. “My name is Minus- and I am a. . . reaper. Yep- a Reaper.” Minus stood up and pointed at Felicity who was making more coffee, “And so is City.”  
Ray crossed his arms, “You didn’t sound so sure about that. A reaper? What do you do, exactly?”  
“Well, we don’t have names, necessarily, we hunt, um, stray angels and demons.” Minus said, sitting back down, taking Felicity’s cup and drinking from it. “Seriously? I literally made a cup for you.” Felicity frowned, sitting down the third mug and sitting next to Ray, on the other side of the couch.  
Smiling, Ray glanced at Felicity before getting back to questioning, “So, here we are. You have me here. What now, reapers?” He wasn’t sure if he even believed Minus, but he would offer him the benefit of the doubt, just as he did for Felicity.  
“Well,” Felicity said, looking at her coffee before speaking. “I don’t know. We’ve never caught anyone before.” She lied, it tasted bitter on her tongue. She didn’t enjoy lying to Ray- and she didn’t know why. “Oh God- City let’s just tell the poor guy the truth. You are a horrible liar and it pains me to watch you.” Minus laughed. Felicity chucked a pillow at him.  
“I thought as much,” Ray said, standing up. He began walking towards the door, “As much as I’ve enjoyed this visit, I’m being hunted as we speak, and I don’t appreciate the lies.” His wings reappeared on his back, no longer holding any weapons and looking slightly worse for wear. He grimaced, stretching them out.  
“Oh shit.” Felicity muttered, looking in the cushions while Minus went to the door, blocking it. “Look, dude. City’s already gonna get crap from the council for dying, and she’ll get even worse crap if she fails. So you kinda gotta stay. Or it won’t be pretty for two people in this room.” Minus said. Felicity glanced at them, still searching the room. She did something bad. She lost her locket. You see, the locket contains her life force. If it breaks, the heart on it, then she dies.  
“Minus. It’s gone.” Felicity said, fear swimming in her eyes. Minus cursed then looked back to Ray. “Howzabout this, buster. You help City and I find her Feeling and I fix those wings of yours. They look a bit rough. Oh, and also, City will die if we don’t find the locket.” Minus added the last part as if this was normal.  
“Oh, great,” Ray sighed, glancing back at Felicity. “I’ll bet you anything Azrael has his hands on it...God knows what he wants. Maybe he’s keeping it as leverage. Anyway, I can track him down, but I don’t know what I’ll do when I find him. He’s incorrigible at best, absolutely crazy at his worst.”  
“I’ll wring his neck when I get my hands on him. That little- little bitch.” Felicity said angrily. Minus snorted and pulled out a phone. Well, it looked like a phone- but it had weird markings on the back. “Should I call in Nevo?” He asked, glancing at Ray. Felicity looked at Ray, then to Minus. “Yeah, do whatever.” She said and Minus walked out. Felicity put her head in her hands. Could things go any worse?  
“You realize he’s trying to get under your skin, right?” Ray asked, turning to face her. “Azrael, I mean. It’s probably his idea of flirting, judging by his constant teasing while you were there. He might be more willing to give it back if you’re the one to find him.”  
“How the hell did he know that that was my weak spot?” she said, looking at him, tears pricking her eyes. “If that thing breaks, I die. Forever. No heaven, no hell. No in between. I’ve made too many promises to that to happen.” Felicity said, falling back onto the couch.  
Ray slowly approached, unsure. Finally, he decided to sit next to her, trying to be reassuring, “I doubt he knows it’s as important as you say it is. He probably just saw you with it and thought it was his chance to see you again...I fear he has some kind of plan, but I’m pretty sure he won’t destroy it.”  
Felicity took a deep breath and wiped away a stray tear. “Yeah. Why the hell am I crying. He doesn’t know a damned thing about AUTS.” She said. She looked at Ray and smiled softly. “Thanks.”  
“You’re welcome,” he replied. Trying not to take up too much space, he folded his wings behind his back, attempting to hide his pain. “So...do you and your friend have a plan? I heard you mention...Nevo, was it?”  
“Heheh.” Felicity laughed. “Have you ever seen a monster-alien dog thing? Probably not. You’ll see him later. He’s. . . . my pet?” Felicity said, not knowing how to describe the giant creature that acted like a lap dog. “Hey, do you need like, Ice for your- uhm, wings?”  
Ray shook his head, grateful for her concern, “No, um...it’ll heal. I just need to keep them out for a little while, and they’ll repair themselves. I do miss Heaven for that reason alone...being there heals injuries very quickly.”  
Felicity slowly nodded. “What does Heaven look like?” She asked. Not like I’ll get to go there if Azrael decides to be a bitch.  
Thinking back to the old days, Ray began to smile, “Well...it’s bright. Some people who sympathize with Lucifer, which I understand, imagine Heaven to be full of cold white light, but it’s not like that. It’s a very warm place, with cities larger than anything on Earth. Angels and spirits of the deceased would fly around there, doing whatever made them happy. I remember, there was this bar, and I would go there every day. Heaven has delightful beverages…” He caught himself, mentally angry for letting himself get tied up in a daydream. “It’s, uh, nice. Golden paths and all, sort of like people guess.”  
Felicity nodded, deciding on what to say. “Why do you stay on Earth? If it’s so great. The way you talk about it sounds like paradise.” It sounded like paradise. Voiya was. . . dark, dirty, and kind of gloomy. The people of Voiya are trying to make it better. . .but eh. . .  
Ray frowned, putting his barriers back up, “Well, it was great until you tried to do anything God didn’t want you to. Nobody ever met him, but he was strict. You could basically do whatever you wanted, but if you began getting attached to another person, you’d wake up one day to find them relocated lightyears away...At least here I can have friends.” Biting his lower lip, he deliberated on whether or not to say something else. Finally, he decided to, “I think the constant action with no real relationships is what began driving Azrael insane.”  
“Oh, damn.” Felicity replied. “I think I can see it from his point of view.” She muttered to herself. “So you came to Earth so you could get social interaction with other beings?” Felicity asked, turning towards him. She didn’t want to be rude and stare straight ahead during a conversation. Except when she talks to Minus. Screw him.  
“Well, I didn’t come here by choice,” Ray replied. “I fell...one day I was doing the usual...living it up, I guess you could say. But spending every day with no responsibilities was suspicious, and, well, angels can’t be suspicious. Next thing I knew, I was hurtling towards the ground, feeling the ‘blessing’ of God burning off me.” He shuddered at the memory. “Now I guess he’s changed his mind. Wants me to repent for my sins and whatnot...he can go to Hell.” Thunder boomed from above to further emphasize his statement.  
Felicity jumped and laughed nervously. She wasn’t a fan of loud noises. “He’s missing out on a wonderful person.” Felicity said, flipping off the ceiling.   
Ray hesitated, before offering a tired smile, “Thank you. Although, I’m neutral at best. To think I’m a good person defeats the purpose.”  
“Pooey.” Felicity replied. “You decided to help me and Minus when you could go do whatever you do.” She replied. “And I appreciate it.” She added the last bit softly. No one helped her and Minus when. . .Yuri was in this situation. Felicity wondered if that’s what Minus was thinking about. Most likely.  
“Ah, remaining angel traits,” Ray said, standing up. “You’re just lucky I didn’t feel like falling...all the way down.” He looked down at her, pursing his lips as he tried to think of what to say. He settled on, “Thank you for believing in me, though.”  
“How dare you thank me.” She joked, standing up as well and started for a door. “I’m going to nap. The remote is. . . somewhere.” She said, stepping inside and shutting the door. She then opened it up again, “Whatever you do, do not pick up the phone.” And she disappeared again.  
Ray wondered why the phone would be an issue, but decided not to push it. Felicity was being very kind, what with getting him out of the school and not being dead. He looked for the remote for a few minutes before giving up, deciding to flop down onto the couch, lying on his stomach. His wings acted as a blanket, covering his body with layers of feather. He smiled a little, nuzzling his faze into the couch to wait for something, anything to happen. Ray would be ready.


	4. Chapter 4

It was dawn when Felicity woke up. She got up and threw on some clean clothes. A yellow tee with the words ‘Neko Ni’ on it, and skinny jeans because that was all she owned. She opened the door and checked on Ray.  
If asked, Ray would deny the fact that he drooled when he slept. It wasn’t exactly his fault anyway, but it managed to embarrass him. He was curled up on the couch, sound asleep like a baby. His wings were folded on his back, covering him. Felicity noticed, then, that something was off about them-golden swirls of god knows what kind of voodoo magic were tracing along the feathers, righting any wrongs. It seemed like he was healing.  
Felicity poked him. “Pssssst. Do you like waffles?” She asked in a hushed whisper. He better, because that, too, was all she owned in the kitchen.  
Ray opened one eye, peering at her from his spot on the couch, “I don’t eat often, but waffles would be nice. What time is it?”  
“Uhm, I think it’s like, seven.” She said, heading to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and pulled out Eggos. Because who doesn’t like eggos? “I always get up at dawn, sorry if you aren’t a morning person. I’m just going to act like you are.” She said, doing whatever you do to cook eggo waffles. “I guess it’s time to spill my guts. I talk alot in the mornings, so- hehe. I am an AUT, AU traveler yadda yadda. Uh, I travel to AUs and. . . work on business I guess. I’m immortal- unless my locket breaks. It keeps like my soul and stuff.” She looked at her hands. “So there’s my story.”  
“So...what I got from that is, basically, Azrael is literally holding your life in his hands.” Ray groaned into his hands, realizing the horror of that situation. “I’m so sorry.” Azrael could be doing anything as they spoke, and I mean ANYTHING. When you give an unhinged angel a locket that belongs to his newfound crush, it’s hard to know what’s going to happen.  
Felicity scoffed and put waffles on two plates. She walked into the living room and handed him one. “I’d do whatever it takes to get back that necklace. And I mean anything.” The necklace was more important than what most people would think. Not only is it her life, it’s one of the only things keeping the Voider at bay.  
“I believe he’s counting on it,” Ray muttered. Azrael wasn’t normal, but he was clever. So very, very clever. But, as he was an angel, he expected everyone around him to do what he said without questioning. So, Felicity was a challenge to him, and Ray knew Azrael would love a challenge…  
Felicity didn’t say anything and bit into a waffle. “So, got any ideas on where this punk would be hiding?” She asked, glancing at him. She was slightly afraid of Azrael- only because she couldn’t get on his nerves. That’s what got on hers. Her head swam. Not a lot, but she could feel it in the back of her head. She was already getting sick. This is what happens when the necklaces are far off, AUTs grow weak until they die, or the necklace breaks.  
Ray pondered this, “I doubt he’s hiding. Probably waiting on you, though. He’s most likely found a place to stay that only you’d think to go to, but I wouldn’t know where that is. Don’t ask me how HE knows, because I have no idea.”  
Felicity nodded, taking another bite of her waffle. “What if he’s still at the school?” She said, It was Saturday, so no one would be there. She stood up, swaying ever so slightly, and took the plate into the kitchen. “Haven’t you known him, for like, ever?” Felicity asked. “Wouldn’t that make it easier for you to know where he is hiding?” (OH MAH GAWD ITS SNOWING LIKE CRAZY SCREEEEEEEEEE)  
“Ah, not quite,” Ray mumbled, setting down his plate. “Azrael and I have been angels for a long time, but we were never friends. There was trust between us, but everyone had trust back then...Then I fell, and we haven’t really done anything besides fight since then. I guess he could be at school, but it’s hard to know. If he’s there, there’s an ambush planned.”  
“If we know about the ambush, and have Nevo with us- they wouldn’t stand a chance.” Felicity said, cracking her knuckles. She knew that was a lie, Nevo was like a puppy. A big ass one. He would only attack if it was a danger to his life, or Felicity’s. She walked back into the living room. “Or he could be. . . yeah I think he may be at the school. I can’t think of any other place.” She said.  
Ray blinked, standing up, “What if he’s here? One thing I do know about him is he’s like a snake...ironically. Either he’s at the school, or…” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. Azrael was strange and irritating, but he could be terrifying all the same.  
“Or he’s in one of the apartments?” Felicity guessed. She didn’t know exactly where he was getting at, but she had an idea. “Oh my God- what if he followed us- wait, no, I teleported us- OH- Minus-” She said, turning to Ray. “He could have followed Minus- Minus was at the school during the fight. He can’t teleport, it strains his brain.” She said.  
“Oh, God,” Ray sighed, ignoring the crash of thunder from the sky. “He could’ve tracked Minus, or he could’ve just used his network to find us. They’re very efficient.”  
Felicity stood up and shoved shoes onto her feet. “I’m scouting out all the empty apartments.” She announced, opening the door. She was going to find this psycho angel and she was going to get her heart back. Literally.  
Azrael was, in fact, listening to this exchange from somewhere nowhere near the apartments. It was hilarious how normal people didn’t even look for wires! Don’t even get him started on simple bugs, which he got placed into the apartment while they slept. His network was quite helpful in that regard…  
“We know their location,” said one of his agents, Greenwood. “Why aren’t we attacking?”  
“Noneya,” Azrael replied, glaring. “Who said you could be in here, anyway?”  
Greenwood looked affronted, “Uh, you did, sir.”  
“Go away,” he spat, waving the agent off. He tapped at his keyboard and pulled up the security cam placed in the complex, watching Felicity’s movements. Absentmindedly, he messed with the locket on his desk, wondering how Ray could be so stupid.  
There were only 6 empty apartments left in the building. It was small, and the only thing Felicity could afford after her last, er, job. After evading the first five, she went to the 6th floor. There was only one apartment up here, surprisingly. She took the bobby pin out of her pocket and jammed it in the lock, the door came open with a click, and she stepped in.  
It was empty. “Dammit!” She said, walking to the window and staring out into the street. Why the hell did this job have to go wrong. Why couldn’t she just have a nice, normal, client who was easy to make happy.  
Meanwhile, during her *SULK PARTY* Ray had found one of the bugs placed under a lampshade, which was upsetting. This meant that Azrael could be anywhere, just waiting for the right moment. He cursed in Russian, which still made the Heavens upset, but he didn’t care. When Felicity returned, he gestured angrily towards the crushed bug, “He got his guys in here. He’s listening right now, waiting to get us. He just always has to be in control…” Ray realized a bit late that he was feeling bitter again.  
Felicity groaned. “That little bitch-” She growled. “That means he knows that fucking locket is litterally my life.” She said, reaching to her neck, out of habit, to stroke her locket, but of course it wasn’t there.  
“He isn’t going to kill you,” Ray growled, beginning to search for any more spying devices. “Azrael wouldn’t dare get rid of someone he finds so interesting. He’s just watching us squirm like a puppet master…” He found another bug under a seat cushion and picked it up, shouting, “Why are you like this?!” Then he broke it.  
“But what if he gets bored? Or he drops it?” She said, voice full of tears. She could feel her eyes pricking. She felt so powerless. She was a normal, human being at the current state she was in. She hated it.  
“He wouldn’t drop it. He’s basically OCD, and angels are meant to be perfect,” Ray muttered. “Azrael might get bored, but if he does he’d probably just give it back. He’d only break it if you pissed him off, which is hard to do.”  
Felicity just looked at him, tears still in her eyes, ready to spill. She nodded. “Yeah. I guess.” She said and walked to her room, shutting the door softly and sitting on her bed, head in hands. She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I’ll do whatever you want!” She growled at any hidden bugs in her room. She assumed that there were. “Just don’t kill me. . .” She said.  
As it turned out, there was a speaker hidden under her bed, which turned on upon this request, “Whatever I want, hm?”  
Felicity jumped and looked around the room. “W-what the-” She gasped, jumping off the bed. “Where are you at, you little rat?” She demanded.  
“I’m everywhereeeeee,” Azrael sang, pressing a button to add an echo effect to his voice. He turned it off, continuing, “A speaker, Felicity. You don’t really think I’d show my hand so easily?”  
Felicity frowned and took a deep breath. “What would it take for me to get back my locket?” She asked, sitting back on her bed. She wasn’t exactly afraid of what Azrael would do to her. She was afraid of the pain that was slowly growing in the back of her head. It was small and she couldn’t feel it that much. If she could just get closer to her locket, then all would be fine. For her, atleast.  
Minus walked in, “Heya, Ray.” He said. He gestured for him to come to the door. “It’s high time you meet Nevo.” He said, he looked towards Felicity’s closed door and grimaced. “City’ll be ok.” Minus said and walked out, expecting Ray to follow.  
Ray did follow, albeit hesitantly. Meanwhile, Azrael was pondering his response, listening to Felicity and sensing her fear. Finally, he settled on, “If you want your locket back, you’ll have to meet me on...mmm...Wednesday. On top of the school. Then we can discuss other things.” He sounded painfully happy about it.  
Following Minus, Ray wondered what exactly a Nevo was. Felicity had mentioned it, but he wasn’t sure what it meant. He supposed he was about to find out.  
“I’ll be there.” She said, looking at her hands. She couldn’t tell Ray or Minus about this, they’d try to stop her. This was the easiest way she could save the universe and her life.  
“Ok, so first thing you’ll need to know is to NOT attack any giant monsters you see. That monster would be Nevo. On City and I’s home world, Voiya, there is a place called the OutLands. This contains a variety of monsters bred through toxins and magic in the air. Nevo is a type of defective monster that experiences other emotions besides anger and a will to kill any who gets in his way. He’s more like a giant puppy.” Minus said all this whilst leading Ray to the basement of the complex. He flipped on the light switch and revealed. . . .  
A seven foot tall monster. His body was like a wolf’s, but covered in glistening black feathers and his feet were three-taloned-claws that gave off a faint glow of green. He had two, long, cat-like tails that had some sort of green fin at the ends. They also glowed. His head was a bird’s skull with ram-like horns. A green smoke leaked from his eye sockets. Finally, something floated from off the back-centre of his skull. It resembles that of an anglerfish. It floated around in the air as if it was underwater. Nevo let out a soft scree.  
“OH.” Ray’s eyes were wider than plates. What a fascinating creature! His angelic instinct of loving animals kicked in, and he approached, grinning. “Hello! You must be Nevo. You’re gorgeous!”  
Nevo lowered his head and cocked it to the side so he could get a better look at Ray. “Careful,” Minus said, stepping forward. “Nevo doesn’t like new things.” He said, keeping an eye on Nevo. Nevo opened his mouth and- and he licked Ray’s face with a slimy green tongue. “Well then,” Minus said, shocked. “When I first met him he attacked me. . .”   
“SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE.” Nevo let out a screech and pranced around the basement, his claws clicking like heels. He went back to Ray and licked him again. To monsters, licking one’s face means they appreciate their existence. Why Nevo did this to Ray was a mystery. Maybe it was because he could sense that Ray was Felicity’s client, or that he could smell Felicity on Ray.  
Ray was ecstatic, bouncing on his heels, “Aww, you’re a good boy! Aren’t you a good boy? Look at you! Wow, what a gorgeous creature!” It reminded him of a lion he used to know up in Heaven, and Ray couldn’t help the smile on his face  
Minus frowned, jealous of the way Nevo was reacting to Ray. Meanwhile, Felicity was on her way to the basement. After receiving a text from Minus about Nevo, she just had to see her pet. Nevo was like a stray cat, kind of, he went off on his own and with all the jobs Felicity has been getting, she hasn’t seen Nevo in forever. She swung open the basement door. “Where is my baby!”   
She smiled and Nevo practically tackled her, covering her in affectionate licks. Nevo screeched delightedly at the fact that two people whom he enjoyed were in the same room. Minus sulked in the corner. “How are you getting along with Nevo?” She asked Ray, stroking Nevo’s pelt. Black feathers drifted to the floor.  
“I love him,” Ray said, reaching out tentatively. “Can I...pet him?”  
Felicity nodded, patting Nevo’s shoulder. She enjoyed seeing people happy. That was basically what she existed for. “Nevo saved me when I was younger.” Felicity said, “I was in the OutLands and was attacked by some monsters, Nevo fought them back so I could escape.” She laid her head on Nevo’s shoulder.  
Ray ran his hand along Nevo’s pelt, smiling at the big baby in front of him. He found it so interesting how this other world held such a beautiful animal. In that moment, he almost wished they had them on Earth. Almost. “What a hero.”  
Felicity smiled. “Oooookay.” Minus said, a bit loudly. “So, we need to figure out what to do with the psycho angel.” Minus said, giving a glare to Ray for only a brief second. Was Minus. . . Jealous? Most likely. Felicity felt her heart speed up. She couldn’t tell them her plan.  
“Well, the ‘psycho angel’ isn’t here, at least,” Ray mumbled, reluctantly moving away from Nevo. “My guess is, he’s at one of the nearest home bases for his agency. It’s very possible that he’s a minute’s flight away, but I doubt he’s going to get his hands dirty...not yet.”  
Minus frowned. “How fast by foot?” He asked, “We don’t have wings.” He sneered. Felicity hit Minus in the back of the head. “Don’t be rude!” She hissed at him. “Sorry-” Minus said, ducking away from her.  
Ignoring the look on Minus’s face, Ray replied, “On foot? Probably twenty five minutes or so. Flying is a lot faster.”  
Felicity nodded. “Well,” Minus said, walking to the door. “This calls for some pods.” Felicity just shook her head as Minus walked out. “I apologize on behalf of Minus. I don’t know why he is suddenly a bitch.” She said. Felicity was leaning against Nevo. Not just casually, but for support, she was growing weaker by the hour.  
Ray crossed his arms, already plotting to get the locket back. He thought out loud, talking almost too fast, “We need to plan our attack. Azrael is beyond genius, but we aren’t stupid. How can we get to the locket without raising suspicion? Maybe a sneak attack, but he’s got guards and agents all over the building. Faulty plan, next! I could go on my own and fly in before he can react, but if he notices I’m screwed. His wings are more built for speed, so he flies faster than I do. He’d catch me before I could get back to you, so that plan is out unless I can get past him...hmm…”  
“Uhm, w-well,” Felicity started. What could she say? “Oh! What if you use a decoy?” She suggested. “Yeah, uh, create a diversion outside to get everyone to rush there, then go in and get the locket back. We could do it, uh, Friday- that’s when Nevo would be strongest because of the. . .full moon.” She said. Hopefully, Wednesday, she’d get her locket back by then. She didn’t want Ray to get hurt.  
“The full moon?” Ray asked, squinting. “Why would Earth’s moon affect Nevo? Actually, better question, how do you even know it does? You just got here.”  
“I’ve been on Earth before, just not in this AU. Voiya has a moon just like, well, the moon. That’s how the monsters were created- radiation and magic, and moon. He’s stronger, uhm, during the full moon.” Felicity said.   
Why couldn’t she lie around him? Was it his holy vibes or something? She just needed to make sure everything went as planned on Wednesday. She knew what Minus would do if he found out, he’d be a suicidal moron and try to rescue her. She didn’t know what Ray would do, but she knew he might get in battle with Azrael, and if it wasn’t for her death, he may be in Heaven right now.  
Ray nodded, believing her. It was indeed his holy vibes, making him able to sense when a falsehood has been said. It didn’t help him much, though, from his trusting attitude. He really wanted to kick ass ASAP, though… “Friday’s good, but what if he moves by then? That’s too long to spend without your locket. Actually, I’d prefer if we got it back today, but I don’t know if that’s possible…”  
“I can go about a month without my locket!” She said quickly, “Plus, didn’t you say he would, like, be near and try to get what he wants?’ She stood up, swaying a bit. She had lied again. AUTs could last only two weeks without their souls.  
Ray frowned, considering this statement. Then ignoring the latter one, he chose to reach out and take her pulse, “...A month, you said? Your heartbeat is significantly slowed, and you’ve been swaying back and forth all day. Even if you can survive for that long, it’ll be painful for you.”  
Felicity looked away, trying to come up with something else. Her brain wasn’t letting her have it. “I’m fine,” She said, looking at him. “I’m just. . . a little ill.” Nevo let out a scree, as if he was doubting her himself.  
“Well, if you’re a little ill, you’re in no condition to be making big decisions like this!” exclaimed Ray.  
Felicity sighed. “I-” She started, but stopped. There was no use in arguing. She stepped backed and fell. Her knees had given out on her. She was getting weak, very fast. If she wasn’t careful, she might even lose consciousness. Felicity stood up, brushing off her pants, Nevo screeched softly.  
Alarmed, Ray reached out to stop her from falling back down, “Um, should I...Do you think I should go after him? You’re really not looking well.”  
“No, no.” She mumbled, clutching his shirt so she wouldn’t fall back down. Nevo let out a screech and licked her. She was frightened. This was the first time she had ever lost her locket. The last time someone had lost their necklace. . . well, they died. They didn’t make it in time. Felicity had been devastated that her best friend had been murdered. Sadly, the only way an AUT dies is from homicide.  
“I’m scared.” She whispered, swallowing back the lump in her throat. The cool front Felicity had been keeping shattered. So much was happening at once. Can’t a girl have a normal life? Felicity let out a sob, balling Ray’s shirt into her fist. Nevo gave a pitiful scree and melted into the shadows, leaving the two of them alone, everything silent except for Felicity’s crying. “I’m scared of dying. I’m scared to lose. I-I hate feeling powerless and not able to do anything. I don’t like feeling worthless.” She sobbed. In the time span of a year, Felicity’s Happy-Go-Lucky spirit had died with her best friend- her sister. She had always put on a happy, brave mask. It was either the fact that her necklace was stolen and she was weakening, or that Ray’s holiness vibes made her mask fall.  
It wasn’t that he didn’t care, just that Ray wasn’t used to being cried on. Thus, it took him several moments to wrap his arms around her, and a few more seconds to remember he was a fallen angel and could give off feelings of warmth. He stroked the back of her head, running fingers through her hair, “It’s going to be okay. No need to be scared, Felicity. We’re going to help you, and you’re not going to die.”  
She just cried. Releasing all the tears she had been holding back for the past year. After about 10 minutes of crying, the tears stopped. She was quiet and still holding on to Ray. She trusted him all the way. Almost all the way. Felicity looked at him and gave a faint smile, “Thank you.” She said, pulling away and wiping her eyes. “Thank you.” She repeated.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Felicity felt a lot better. Yeah, there was still a pain in her head but she could walk around fine and dandy. Once again, it was dawn when Felicity walked out of her room. She wore an oversized black t-shirt as a night gown and extremely fluffy socks. She sauntered over to the couch where Ray was sleeping and poked him. “Do you want waffles?” She whispered.  
Ray jolted awake, slapping her in the face with a powerful wing accidentally. “Agh, sorry!” Ray exclaimed, curling in on himself. “Um, yes...yes, I want waffles.” He had been having a nightmare. Something to do with falling and burning, feeling the flames cook his skin that took him years to heal.   
“Ow!’ She yelped and stepped back, rubbing her cheek. “I should let you starve for that.” She muttered, going into the kitchen. “Did you sleep well?” She asked, grabbing a new box of eggos. Minus had eaten the last of the confetti waffles.   
“Yeah, yeah, I slept fine,” Ray muttered, sitting up. His wings itched from the memory of them being charred, so he let them vanish into the other realm. “Any updates on Azrael while I was out?”  
Felicity paused. “No. Minus thought he saw some suspicious guys out front though. He said they were wearing suits, but he didn’t know if they were agents or not.” She said, taking out the waffles and putting them on plates, then walked into the living room and handed him a plate.  
Standing, Ray bit into a waffle, moving to look out a window. Yes, there were well dressed men glancing up at them and talking amongst themselves...that couldn’t be good. He gave them a rude look and turned back to Felicity, “I think it’s them, yes. I see Agent Greenwood among them. He’s quite dangerous for a human.”  
“Wait, Azrael hires humans?” She said, looking up at him. She would have thought that Azrael’s partners in crime would also be angels. The door opened and Minus rushed in, closing the door. “Some of them are headed up the stairs.” He said, out of breath.  
Ray groaned into his waffle, turning towards Minus, “Are they armed? How are they walking? Calmly, or aggressively? Who is leading the group?”  
“Uh, I don’t know what weapons they have, I do know that one in the back was carrying a gun. There was four of them, they were walking like they owned the place and a very muscular gorilla man with a bandaged hand was leading them.”  
“Arnold,” Ray growled, squaring his shoulders. “If they’re coming up, I’m sure Agent Greenwood won’t be far behind. Either we run, or we fight. I can do either, so what’s your preference?”  
Felicity hopped up and went to the room to get clothes on. “I prefer to fight, but it’d be two against, like, four. Unless Felicity decides to try something. She can’t do anything with her AUT powers since she doesn’t have her locket.” Felicity came out the room with ripped jeans on and the same t-shirt.  
Ray’s wings still felt off, but he pulled them back into the mortal world, knowing they’d be of use. He sighed, cracking his knuckles, “Right, then. If you’d like, I can fly out and attack from behind them. I should be fast enough to where they can’t possibly catch me.”  
“We could probably beat them if we drew the fight outside, where Nevo could form.” Felicity said, opening the broom closet and drawing out her metal staff. Minus laughed and shook his head, since he knew how Nevo was. Felicity bopped him on the head with her staff. “Nevo is a sophisticated being who is a decent fighter.”  
“Okay,” whispered Ray, more to himself than anything. He had a plan, but they would probably be mad. “I apologize in advance.” Then, he vaulted himself through the window in an act of defenestration. His wings spread out, and he dove for Greenwood, ignoring the pain of broken glass scraping his sides. Agent Greenwood received a punch to the face.  
“Ow! God, fuck, Jesus,” the agent held his face, trying not to overreact. Ray landed neatly beside him, looking very composed. Greenwood grit his teeth, glaring, “We meet again, Raphael.”

Felicity frowned at the same time the front door opened. “Hey gorilla- oh he has a gun. DAMMIT MINUS THEY ARE ARMED.” She yelled. Minus winced. “Well I’m sorry for trying to save our asses!” He mumbled. An echoey scree sounded. “No Nevo-” Felicity said, but Nevo started to melt from the shadows, his back up against the ceiling. “Ah fuck the world.” Felicity cursed, jumping back to avoid being squashed. The ceiling cracked.  
Arnold didn’t look all that upset, though his eyebrows went down just a fraction, “That’s not from this world.” Meanwhile, Ray was kicking ass outside, just gently enough to keep them from falling unconscious. It had been awhile since he’d been in a good fight with someone besides Azrael.  
“Neither are we.” Minus said and pulled Felicity towards him. He took a deep breath and sliced at the air. A portal opened up, but closed almost instantly. “Aw man that was going to be so cool.” Minus whined. Felicity rolled her eyes and stepped away. “NEVO GO HOME.” She yelled. Nevo screeched and melted back into the shadows. “See, now look at what you’ve done.” She said to Minus. Minus gave a goofy smile.  
The men behind Arnold pointed their guns at Felicity and Minus, though they were obviously unsure. Nevo hadn’t been expected. But, their squad leader quickly reappeared, looking like a complete mess...Greenwood. “Get them anywhere but outside!” He was panting. “The-the THING is out there!”  
The “thing” was sitting patiently on the grass outside, surrounded by groaning, bleeding men. Ray was extraordinarily pleased with himself. Agent Greenwood made some obscure gestures towards his team, and they moved forward, approaching Minus and Felicity with guns held high.  
“Touch me and you’re dead.” Felicity growled, gripping her staff. “What she said.” Minus added. Felicity looked at him annoyed, slowly edging her way to the broken window. She watched them with wary eyes.   
“Oh, is that so?” asked Greenwood as he composed himself. “I seem to recall you saying you were weaker than usual. Something about hardly being able to stand...how well do you think you can fight against men with guns?”  
“Oh please. Did you think that I was going to kill you?” She said. Felicity was running out of things to say. “If you shoot me, I’d die. Azrael wouldn’t be happy about that, now would he?” She smirked. She just hoped they weren’t here to kill her by orders of Azrael. Most likely not. But she didn’t know what that creep was up to.  
Agent Greenwood laughed, “You think we’d kill you? No, no, we wouldn’t. We would kill your friends, Minus and Ray. They both have weak points!”  
Felicity gasped. She was worried for Ray, not Minus. Minus could die for all she cared. He was an AUT, so he’d come back. “You will not harm either of them.” She growled, her green eyes swimming with a sudden anger. One of the men clicked their gun. “City watch out-!” Minus yelled, elbowing Felicity back as the gun fired. “MINUS!” She screamed, falling through the window. She grabbed the edge, glass cutting into her skin. Felicity winced. “Minus!” She called out.   
Minus laid against the wall under the window, pain flooded him. He had been hit right above the heart. It hurt like hell. AUTs feel pain, they ‘die’ with pain. He groaned, trying to stand, but he couldn’t. His blue tee was turning a dark purple. “Ray!’ He called out the window, gritting his teeth. “Get. . . . City to safety.” He mumbled, losing consciousness. Felicity shuddered. She could feel his soul pass by her.  
Ray shot up to the window, wrapping his arms around her waist and whispering, “We need to go. Your apartment isn’t safe anymore.” He awaited confirmation, not wanting to drag her off without asking first.  
She nodded, gingerly letting go of the windowsill. Her hands stung from where she gripped the glass that had cut into her skin, but she didn’t care. “Nevo, come.” She said, and if you looked into the shadows, you could see them shifting.  
“How quickly can Nevo move?” Ray asked, shuffling back from the window as his wings flapped behind him. The agents still pointed guns at him, but the way they were positioned, there was no way Ray could be shot without risking her life. He watched Nevo appear from the shadows, and it was amazing.  
“He’s fast, he’s basically the shadows. Anywhere there are shadows, that’s where Nevo is.” She said, wrapping her arms around his neck for support. She was kind of scared of heights.  
“All right,” Ray mumbled, starting to lower down towards the ground. “I have a plan. If I fly above, I’ll cast a shadow on the ground. Can Nevo manage to stay in it?”  
“Yep.” Felicity said, eyeing wary at the agents. She could see Nevo’s melted shadows swirling in anticipation. He was wanting action. Nevo was built for running, not fighting. However, with his skull-head and thick layer of feathers, he could withstand quite the amount of damage.  
Ray looked at the agents, who were clearly listening. Then he realized some of them were gone. “Okay, they’re heading downstairs. I’m going to need to fly you a little farther away. Will Nevo know where we’re going?”  
“Yes, Nevo is practically attached to me. I control his orb, so where I go- he usually goes.” Felicity explained. Unlike humans on Voiya, monsters had orbs. That’s where their life force was. Nevo’s orb was at the base of his skull.  
“Right...okay, on the count of three. Three...two...one…” Ray turned around and shot forward, away from the apartments. He could fly very quickly, especially in a situation like this. Felicity weighed him down a little, but he could manage-  
Blinding pain flashed through him from the base of his wings onwards. He cursed in a few different languages, half of them being dead ones. Ray barely held himself up, just trying to get away. He hoped Felicity wouldn’t notice, but the cursing and bullet wound in his back was telling. He managed to fly them maybe two miles away before fluttering clumsily to the ground. They were in a Walmart parking lot.  
Felicity stood still for a moment, her hair windswept. “That was awesome.” She breathed, she ran her hand through her hair, trying to make it decent. She didn’t want to look like a druggie. She turned to Ray. “Are you ok?” She asked, she didn’t know what he had been doing when he jumped out the window.  
“They-” he wheezed a bit. There must’ve been a streak of blood going in the direction of their location, what with his back oozing and all. “They shot me when I turned around. When I was flying...ah, damn…” God spared him the trouble of thunder and lightning- He didn’t exactly condone his children being shot.  
“Oh dear,” She said, stepping towards him to see the wound. She looked at the store. “I’ll be right back.” She said, running inside. A few minutes later she returned with a bottle of water, gauze, pocket tissue and saline solution.  
Ray was lying on his stomach, bleeding out- he was positioned that way to minimize blood loss, but appeared too weak to do much else. He wasn’t even fully conscious. Ray babbled quietly to himself, possibly in another language, but it could’ve just been gibberish.  
Felicity felt her eyes swelling with tears. Seeing Ray so vulnerable just broke her heart. “It’ll be okay.” She told him. She pressed her lips together as she opened the water. She knew that this might be painful to him. She poured some water onto the wound, trying to clean it. She quickly did the rest of whatever she needed to do. Finally, she unwounded the gauze.  
“Hey…” Ray murmured, his eyes half-lidded. He wasn’t looking particularly dignified. “When this is over with...can I...can I keep the bullet?” Ray knew it couldn’t have gone through him. Felicity was okay, for one, and for another thing, there was only an entry wound. It still hurt like Hell either way.  
“Y-yeah.” She said. To be honest, Felicity wasn’t a fan for cleaning wounds. She learned it in one of her jobs after she was badly hurt. Thinking about it made her shoulder itch. Felicity had already managed to remove the bullet in the process of trying to unofficially clean his wound. It was a messy process, but she had managed to get it out. She heaved him up so she could wrap the wound. She lifted his shirt and slowly started to wrap the gauze around his upper torso.   
A jeep pulled into the parking lot, followed by two sleek black cars. Ray suddenly jolted upwards, interrupting her work. He wasn’t exactly doing well, but he recognized that feeling. The feeling of a waterfall, going into an abyss. Azrael had arrived, and he meant business.  
The vehicles stopped beside the two, and Agent Greenwood got out of the driver’s side, opening the door for the man of the hour. Azrael, unbelievably, had combed his hair. He was also wearing his best attire, which consisted of a dress shirt and suit pants. The suit jacket was replaced with the one he wore everywhere, the jacket with wing-holes in the back. He chose to keep them hidden, just this once.  
“Raphael!” Azrael shouted, clasping his hands together. “It’s been ages! You’re looking well. Oh, and the lady herself! Felicity, I do apologize. I’d genuinely meant to wait until Wednesday, but I missed you. I hope you understand, needs must!”  
Ray made a sound that sounded half like a wheeze, half like his lungs were trying to turn inside out, “Wednesday?”  
“OH, Ray! You didn’t know?” Azrael feigned shock, placing his hands on his cheeks so he looked vaguely like the Home Alone kid. “Yes, Felicity was planning on meeting me for a little...ah...get together.” His voice sounded horribly suggestive.  
Felicity looked down in shame and anger. She didn’t say anything, but glared at Azrael, then she looked to Ray. “It’s not what you think. . .” She started. She didn’t want him to think she was betraying him or anything.  
Azrael smiled innocently, “No, no, of course not. She only purposely omitted information for the sole reason of being with me on that day. Surely you weren’t thinking of that?” Ray noted that despite his meticulous grooming, Azrael had not shaved. He wanted to punch the stubble off his stupid face.  
She looked at Ray, then to Azrael, then back to Ray. “I just wanted to get my locket back without any bloodshed.” She said, then added “Obviously that wasn’t happening. . .”  
“Oh, your locket? You mean this locket?” Azrael pulled it out of his pocket, waving it back and forth. “How long did you say you could live without it...a month? I think we all know you’re lying about that, don’t we, Raphael?”  
“What kind of angel does shit like this?” Ray managed, both confused and angry. He knew that Felicity wouldn’t betray him on purpose, but it still stung that she never said a word. “Honestly, I have to wonder how you haven’t fallen.”  
Shaking his head, Azrael looked at Agent Greenwood incredulously before turning back to Ray, “Is this really the time to be prodding at me, brother dear? I’ve got my lovely Felicity’s life in my hands, and you’re trying to rile me up. I knew you were stupid, but really…?”  
Ray stood, trying not to wince at the pain in his back. His wings fluttered, stretching out to try and avoid the place of injury. He looked back at Felicity, trying to devise a plan. He had absolutely nothing.  
Felicity stood too, leaving the gauze on the ground. She hadn’t noticed it before, but the pain in her head had ebbed away. It was from being so close to her locket. She didn’t know what to do. “He’s not stupid.” She told Azrael. Her hands shook, she didn’t know if she should call out Nevo. She shouldn’t, he could get hurt.  
“You’re such a sweetheart,” Azrael cooed, admiration in his eyes. He shoved the locket back into his jacket pocket and grinned devilishly. “When are you going to let me keep you?”  
Felicity frowned. “Never.” She said, stepping forward. “I am not an item.” Long ago, someone else had called her an item, a trophy. That was the person who had killed her best friend. Even though this was an entirely situation, it filled her with sadness.  
Blinking, Azrael looked almost guilty, but she could see how dead he was on the inside. It was a facade. “You misunderstand me, Felicity Fellen. You’re far from an item, a sex doll, a trophy, or any other term. You’re far too interesting for that!” He pondered for a moment before continuing. “No, no, no...you’re not an item, but we could be!”  
Agent Greenwood tried to hide the disgusted look on his face, but failed. Ray, on the other hand, was furious, “Why would she choose to be with you after you did this to her? You’re such a selfish bastard! Can’t you think about how this kind of thing makes people feel?”  
Felicity almost choked on the air she was breathing. “Oh God no.” She said, shaking her head. “Who in their right mind would want to be with you.” She said, stepping back. She didn’t   
want to go anywhere near him, but how else would she get her locket? Her life force?  
Pouting, Azrael gave her some highly perfected puppy-dog eyes. He shifted his weight back and forth, appearing almost snake-like in his movements. “Felicityyy...don’t be like that. You know, deep down inside, that we’re meant to be. Me, and my wit. You, and your...you. Everything about you suits me better than this outfit, and I have a tailor. Do I have to say pretty please?”  
“Please just give me my locket. . .” Felicity begged, taking a step forward. Currently, nothing would make her do whatever Azrael wanted. She glanced at Ray. Almost nothing. Felicity got an idea. She slowly walked towards, only stopping when there was 3 feet between them. “I’m- I am begging you.” She said. If she was fast enough, she might be able to snatch her locket out of his pocket. Her hand twitched.   
“Oh, fun,” Azrael murmured, glancing down at her hands, “I like it when they beg. It doesn’t quite suit you, though, if you’ll excuse my rudeness.” He stepped forward so they were only about a foot apart, and gave her a wild smile. “What are you planning, Felicity?”  
In one quick motion Felicity yanked the locket from his pocket and jumped back, out of reach. She didn’t feel the tingly-ness that she usually felt, it wasn’t as strong. But maybe that was because she hadn’t seen her locket in a couple days. She walked backwards to Ray’s side, keeping her eyes on the enemy.  
Azrael’s facial expression was terrifyingly blank. Normally, at least he pretended to be emotional, but now there was nothing...then he started laughing. “Very good! I can’t believe you’d be so risky...makes it all the more appealing!” He continued to giggle, somewhat childlike.  
This threw Felicity off. “W-what’s so funny?” She demanded, clutching the locket in her hands. She furrowed her brow. Something wasn’t right. Minus needed to hurry. How long would it take him to recuperate? Unless he was here and looking for them. He wasn’t the first priority at the moment, so she shoved him to the back of her mind.  
Minus raced down the hallway to the council. He had to tell them what was happening. He threw open the door. “Pardon my intrusion,” He gasped. A woman with a thick, black braid frowned at him. “It’s extremely important.” He continued. He paused a moment to catch his breath. “The job you sent Gold User Felicity Fellen on has had a few complications. You see, an opposing being that might be the client has taken Felicity Fellen’s locket. It’s been three days.” He said. A man with messy brown hair gasped. “Oh my. This hasn’t happened since Bronze User Yuki Kami.” Minus swallowed a painful lump in his throat. “I ask permission on Felicity Fellen’s behalf that we use AUT Code 39.”  
Azrael was wiping a few tears from his cheeks, tears of laughter, “Your face! You look so anxious, my dear. What’s the problem? You got the locket, didn’t you? Bravo and congratulations.”  
“But why the hell are you laughing?” She said, looking at the locket. Wait a second. The chain was golden, but it was missing the few silver links that Minus had given her to fix it. The locket didn’t have the small X carved in it at the very bottom. “This. . . this isn’t my locket.” She realized.  
“Oh, isn’t it?” Azrael’s eyes gleamed with something menacing, but she couldn’t quite tell what. “Must’ve been a mix up! Agent Greenwood, would you mind?” At his command, Greenwood went over to the jeep, pulling out the true locket in all its glory. Azrael smiled, taking it from him. “Shame. I guess you’ll just have to wait until Wednesday, hmm?”  
Ray was speechless, and also bleeding out. The sudden jerk of sitting up just made him start bleeding again, and the pain ripping through him was horrid. Finally, Ray managed to say, “How could you do this?”  
A deep, real laugh came from Azrael’s throat before he replied, “All is fair in love and war.” Then, as an afterthought, he added, “You really should know that, brother-mine. See you in Heaven!” He turned around, beginning to head for his jeep. Agent Greenwood was already taking the locket, prepared to put it back on the dash.  
“Where the fuck do you think you are going?” Felicity said, outraged. She stormed forward, her staff ready for attacking. If he thought he was just going to tease her life with the trick he just pulled, he had another thing coming.  
“Oh, no, no, no,” Azrael whined, throwing his head back. “Don’t be stupid! I hate it when they’re stupid. I thought you were better than this…” He met her eye, not even moving into any sort of fighting position. “Felicity, as much as I like you, if you get this suit dirty, I’ll have Vann shoot you right here and now.”  
She stopped. Even though her locket was within reach, if she was shot- she was dead. Felicity didn’t say anything, just glared angrily at Azrael. She hated this. “Godammit, Azrael.” She growled. “Why- arghhhh.” She threw her staff at his car, scratching it.  
Not breaking eye contact, he reached down, picking up the staff. Then, in a deep, flat voice, Azrael said, “You’re lucky this isn’t one of my Bentleys. I would beat your brains out right here in this parking lot, suit or not, if you fucked up one of my Bentleys.” With that, he tossed the staff backwards, letting Greenwood catch it. “Mmm...that being said, I’ll be holding this hostage as well. You might get it back if you’re good.” He stepped back, opening the car door. “Can this be over now?”  
Felicity turned and walked back in an angry manner to Ray. “Just go, goddammit.” She said, her hands balled into a fist. There was a painful lump in her throat, she swallowed it back. She would not cry in front of this psycho.  
“Well, then,” he said. “Adios, Felicity! Hope you don’t miss my brother too much...he might even be back! Ah, but don’t get your hopes up.” With that, the car door slammed shut, and they were driving off.  
She turned to Ray, and for the first time, noticed that his wound was bleeding again. “Oh-” She said, quickly bending down to get the gauze. “Here, let me-” She said, reaching towards him.  
“Don’t,” he rasped, trying to stay awake. “I-I think I’m going to die, Felicity.”  
“Bitch, you are not allowed to die in my presence.” She said, starting to unwrap the gauze.  
Ray, despite all his defenses, felt himself tear up, “It’s been so many years...he’s never stopped doing this. If I just die now, maybe he’ll leave you alone. It hurts…”  
Felicity started to wrap the gauze around his upper torso. “If you were to die, then he wouldn’t leave me alone. I’d just be powerless to stop whatever he’d do.” She said, tearing the gauze and stepping back.  
The blood was so heavy that it started to leak through. Angels bled a lot, mainly because in Heaven it had the ability to heal over. Ray didn’t have that luxury. He thought about it, though his mind was foggy, “I could...I could take you with me. To Heaven.”  
She looked at him. Something in her mind tried to push its way to her attention. “. . .” When Felicity was younger, and people around her had died, she remembered saying: “I want to go to heaven.” She felt the lump in her throat again. “AUTs can’t go to heaven, though.” She said. Felicity didn’t really pay attention when she was younger, when she was being taught about AUTs. When they die, they are supposedly in a dark abyss, floating forever. No heaven, no hell. What she didn’t realize was that this was an AU’s Heaven, so the rules didn’t apply.  
“You don’t have to die,” Ray whispered, clinging on to all the strength he had. The area between an angel’s wings was sensitive, so the pain was overwhelming. “I can...can take you with me. I’m the only one who has to die. Time doesn’t exist up there...you’d feel better for a while, better about your locket...please, just let me do this.”  
Felicity took a deep breath, trying to stop the painful lump. She couldn’t. Tears trailed down her cheeks and she said “Then do.”   
He offered a smile, which was all he could do without causing more pain. Azrael wouldn’t be expecting this one, and Ray only hoped that his brother would have the decency not to do anything rude. With that, his wings curled forward, pulling her in like a hug. It almost was one, but the bullet wound was distracting. “Here we go,” he sighed, and shut his eyes.  
When his eyes opened again, it was bright. So bright, kind of like the strobe lights in his classroom. Ray looked down, and what was immediately apparent was that he was wearing only a tight white t-shirt and flowy white pants. Heaven was the breeding ground for hippies, it would seem. He looked down, letting his wings spread out so Felicity could escape. Her clothes stayed the same.  
Felicity stepped back, still trying to get used to the brightness of the light. When she recovered, she couldn’t help but laugh. “You look like a hippie.” She said. Even through the joke, she had to admit he looked kind of hot in the outfit.  
“Yes, astute observation, Felicity,” he muttered, running his hands down the soft fabric. There was one detail he’d missed: the old cross necklace he used to wear was back. It was a cruel joke, really, but he didn’t want to throw much of a tantrum over it. “Azrael will know I’m here. He’s probably overjoyed, but we won’t see him for a while as far as your internal clock goes. If we go by human terms, he’s already here…” Ray blinked, realizing he’d gone into nerd mode.  
“Ok, say that again- but in english.” She said. She didn’t know what he meant- but that was Felicity. She was slow sometimes.   
Ray thought about it for a second, “It just means that Heaven doesn’t follow Earth’s time rules. Azrael probably came up as soon as he realized I was here, but as far as actual time goes, he came up instantly. ‘Time’ is more based on where you are up here.” He looked around the place, noting that they were in the middle of a city. There were many people staring at him, some of them being other angels. He decided to ignore them.  
Felicity nodded slowly. “So Azrael is here? Or he isn’t?” She felt ashamed suddenly, from not understanding. She was 113 years old for christ’s sake, she wasn’t a 13 year old.  
“Yes, he’s here. Not here as in anywhere near this city, but he’s in Heaven. I’m willing to bet he’s at his own place...he’s always so dramatic.” Ray-or, if they were going to be all holy, Raphael, frowned. Then, he remembered his state of deadness, feeling his back where the wound had been. It tingled, but there was no blood to be found. “Hmm...what do you say we stay as far away from him as possible?”  
Felicity nodded and gave a small smile. She appreciated what he was doing. “Ray tha-AnKs-” She stumbled forward, after she gained sure-footing, she turned to see that someone had bumped into her.   
“Raphael?” she asked, staring at him. She completely ignored Felicity, which was rude, but it wasn’t on purpose. “Oh my goodness! Where have you been? I-I thought you,” she looked around, then whispered, “fell.”  
“You thought right,” he muttered, nodding at her. “Dina, it’s a pleasure. Still running the humanology class, I assume?”  
She ignored the question, instead moving to hug him. He tensed up, but evidently she didn’t notice, “How did you get back? Where did you land? Is it true that you wouldn’t repent?”  
“I didn’t repent,” he grumbled, pushing her away gently. “As nice as it is to see you, I believe you have places you’d rather be? You pushed aside my friend.”  
Dina recoiled at the term, “Friend? Is she the person that made you…?”  
“NO! Jesus, just go away,” Ray snapped, shooing her with his hand. Dina gasped dramatically and flew away, gone almost instantly. “Goody-two-shoes…”  
Felicity frowned. “I didn’t like her. She was kind of rude.” She remarked. “What did she mean by ‘the person that made you…?’?” Felicity asked, she hadn't really been paying attention, she had been looking at the angels. Their wings were so different, but the same all together.  
“The one that made me fall,” Ray sighed, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter. We should go elsewhere.” He didn’t want to speak to Dina, not anymore. Even if they were once fond of one another, he’d changed. Frankly, he had no desire to talk about it with anyone, especially not with Felicity there.  
It took Felicity a moment to process what it meant. “OH.” She said, her face heating up. “Oh gosh-” she shook her head. “Where exactly is ‘elsewhere’?” She asked.  
“Anywhere but here. Come on, there’s probably a pool or something nearby. We can ask about Azrael and figure out what to do,” Ray said, grasping her by the wrist. Forward, sure. But he was eager to leave the staring pedestrians behind.  
Felicity followed him. A thought struck her. Would Nevo be able to form here? She could see shadows- but this was such a holy place. She opened her mouth to say something, but she kept getting distracted by all the beauty.   
“Careful not to think too hard,” Ray mumbled. “Some of them can hear you. Angels, I mean. I’ve never had that gift, but a few of them always seem to be watching.”  
“Oh- that’s unsettling.” She said, frowning. She didn’t like the idea of someone listening to her thoughts. Especially the ones that no one was supposed to hear. She shuddered. “Are we there, yet?”  
“Mmm...I think I remember this city. Let’s make a left,” he said, turning. There was a fenced area in the distance, with only a few people within the borders. A pool, as Ray said. He grinned to himself, forgetting that he was supposed to be sullen. “There. That pool. I think I see Uriel over there...he might be able to help!”  
“Uriel? What’s with these names?” She muttered to herself. “Is Uriel a friend of yours?” She asked, looking at the people, studying their faces.  
“Angels don’t have friends,” he sighed, letting go of her wrist. “No, I only consult him because he’s an archangel. He knows Azrael decently well.”  
“Oh, my bad.” She said. The ‘no friends’ rule bothered her. She followed behind Ray, pursing her lips as she tried to guess which one Uriel was, and trying to guess what an archangel was. It sounded like it was a higher ranked one.  
They reached the pool, and they could see that it was gorgeously kept. The water was clearer than glass, and it went so far down that it could’ve been an ocean. Ray had fond memories of pools like these, being able to dive down far with wings propelling him downwards. He collected himself, waving at Uriel, “Hello! I don’t mean to bother you, but-”  
Uriel punched him in the face, which didn’t really hurt, but the idea was there.   
Felicity gasped, taking a step back. She hadn’t been expecting that, Felicit thought he would be more like Dina- obviously not. “Ray, are you okay-?”  
He laughed-laughed in response, looking up at Uriel, “I missed you too, buddy. But let’s cut to the chase-where’s Azrael?”  
One thing Uriel did have in common with Dina was ignoring half of what Ray said, “Where have you been? Do you have any idea how Heaven has been without you? Did you honestly expect to fall and then live in paradise down on Earth? You’ve lost your mind!” At this point, he was shaking Ray’s shoulders.  
“Oh, hush.” Ray said. “Listen, I’ll tell you all about it later,” he wouldn’t, “but right now I really need to know where Azrael is. Angel of death and all?”  
Uriel frowned, but finally answered the question, “He’s at his palace back in Uneolan. What do you need him for? And who’s this girl? She doesn’t look dead.”  
“Why thank you.” Felicity replied. “I’m Felicity Fellen, nice to meet you.” She said. He was an interesting change from Dina. Oh, that reminded her. How would Minus find them if she was in Heaven? He’d figure a way out. Maybe. Probably not.  
“And you,” Uriel said quickly, crossing his arms. “Raphael, what are you playing at? You’ve just waltzed back into Heaven and demanded to see Azrael without explaining anything. Are you aware of how offensive that is?”  
Ray considered this, “I didn’t actually redeem myself or anything. Azrael killed me, and I was pulled back here instead of dying for good. I need to find him so I can tell him off.”  
“That sounds aggressive, but I wish you the best of luck,” Uriel said, turning back towards the water. “Try not to fall again on your way there.”  
Felicity pursed her lips. “Are angels from Heaven bitches?” Felicity asked Ray, then quickly added “Except you of course.”   
On Earth, Minus was looking at camera footage in the apartment complex. “Dammit.” He cursed under his breath- the agents had wiped everything clean. He jogged to the parking lot, to see if he could find any trails. There was a faint blood trail and a few feathers. Angel feathers. Minus let out a sigh of relief, Ray had gotten Felicity to safety.  
Scowling, Ray shook his head, “Quite the opposite. They’re all very kind, but Uriel was right to be angry. I was an archangel too before I fell. They might be struggling to cope without me.”  
Felicity regretted the comment she had made. “What's an archangel?” She asked, this was the second time he had mentioned them. “Are they like older angels or. . . ?”  
“No, not necessarily older. Just a little higher in power than the normal choir angels. We-or, they tend to be in charge. Uriel likes this area, while I used to roam around.” Ray didn’t let himself reminisce. Instead, he changed the subject entirely. “So, let’s not go to Azrael’s palace thing right now.”  
“Wait- he’s got a palace?” She gaped. That made him all the more annoying. He acted all high and mighty- and had a palace to top it off. “Ok, so now where do we go?” She asked, turning to him.   
Ray paused. “Well, I really can’t get out of Heaven since I don’t have a corporeal body anymore. We could speak with Cassiel, since he usually helps humans. I’m sure helping us wouldn’t be too far from his job description, and he knows one of the guys that gives out bodies.”  
Felicity coughed. “That sounds so wrong.” She said, shaking her head. “So why do you need a ‘body’ to get out of Heaven? Can’t you just piss God off again or something?”  
He looked at her like she was extraordinarily stupid, “I need a body to go to Earth because I’m dead. My body is dead. I can’t physically get out of Heaven like this, so I need an actual body to walk around in.”  
She threw her hands up. “Sorry, didn’t know.” She muttered. Felicity raised a hand to her neck. She usual does that out of habit- to finger her locket, but of course, it wasn’t there. She let her hand drop to her side. “I’m sorry,” She said, “I didn’t mean to trash talk the angels and Heaven.”  
“Oh, no, I don’t care about that,” Ray said. “I don’t know why you think I’d care. They’re not my friends or anything. The only reason I said anything was because you were wrong. If you were factually correct, I wouldn’t have minded.”  
Felicity frowned. “Ok then,” She said, following Ray. She sighed, her head was starting to hurt again. It was from stress, though. “Hey- do think Nevo could form here? Is there like a ‘block’ for evil things or whatever?”  
“I’m not sure. He’s sweet from what I’ve seen, and the people here love animals, so he should be allowed...I just worry because it’s so bright. There aren’t many shadows.”  
“He just needs shadows to form, once he’s out and onto the ground, he’s as free as a bird, he just travels through shadows.” She explained, offering a smile. She loved Nevo and enjoyed talking about him.  
Ray nodded, “Okay, then he should be able to form just fine. He isn’t exactly evil.”  
Felicity opened her mouth to say something- then thought better of it. “Okie dokie.” She said. She whistled once, and the nearest shadows started to swirl. First, Nevo’s beak stuck out, slowly the rest of his body followed, squeezing out of the shadows. As soon as he saw Ray, he practically ran him down, letting out joyful screes. Nevo showed his appreciation for Ray’s existence by covering him in affectionate licks.  
Stroking Nevo’s feathers, Ray grinned. It had been a little while since he’d been happy ever since Azrael pulled this event. It was pleasant, having someone (or, something?) so excited to see him, and it was a relief. He was only a little upset about being covered in Nevo’s spit.  
“I haven’t seen Nevo so excited to see someone other than me.” Felicity laughed, patting her pet and trying to dodge the slimy kisses. “Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy!” Felicity said to Nevo. The monster let out a screech, as if answering her question. Felicity laughed, hugging Nevo around the neck. “You’re a good boy.”  
The people around them ooh-ed and ahh-ed, clearly never having seen something quite like Nevo. None of them were afraid, which probably had something to do with them already being dead. Ray couldn’t help but smile like the world was perfect- such innocence! That was one thing he’d never hate about Heaven.  
“Nevo, you’re in Heaven right now,” Ray said, gesturing to all the people. “Everyone loves you, just like you love us. I hope you like it.” He didn’t know if Nevo understood him or not, but he felt like saying it anyway.  
Nevo cocked his head and looked at Ray’s hands. He then looked at all the people around him. His tails started to wag, Nevo liked people. And these people had feathers- well, most of them. “I feel like Nevo likes Heaven,” Felicity laughed, patting Nevo. The monster nudged Felicity, pushing her back a few steps. “No, no, we can’t play right now. You’re lucky I let you out. You need to be a good boy for mama.”  
Ray snorted, “Mama?” He tried to imagine Felicity regularly using baby talk. It was a funny thought. “Mmm...anyway, we should find Cassiel. I’d like to get us out of here so we can figure out what to do. Y’know, seeing as we’re being hunted…?”  
Felicity stuck her tongue out at Ray. “Nevo is my baby.” She said, “Is Cassiel an easy person to find?” She asked, tugging at her shirt collar. It was a new habit, since- well, you most likely get it.  
Meanwhile, Minus was studying the end of the trail. A pool of blood, an empty roll of gauze, a half empty water bottle, soaked pocket tissue, and a used bottle of saline solution- along with a Wal-Mart bag. There was nothing else pointing in a direction they could’ve gone.  
Minus stood up. Before he could do anything else, something hit in in the back of the head and everything went black.  
“Cas isn’t difficult to find if you know what to look for,” Ray replied, his wings fluttering behind him. Whenever his angelic powers were needed, his wings acted up- he never did find out why. “He helps people settle down when they get here. We’re looking for high anxiety. It’ll paint a trail right to him.”  
Ray could never read minds, but he had abilities of his own- he could sense the souls of others for miles on end, at least while in Heaven. It was a bit like having a type of synesthesia, except instead of his own senses being used, other peoples’ emotions caused colors to appear in his vision. He used this skill often before the Fall, but hadn’t been able to use it since. Maybe with him being back in Heaven, he’d be able to track Cassiel with it.  
Felicity nodded, then looked at him. “Wait- how can you sense feelings-?” She asked. She knew of the mind reading that angels had- but a Feeling tracker? Unless, of course, he meant by just instinct feelings.  
“Well, it’s not just feelings.” Ray, being a teacher, quite liked explaining stuff. This time he let himself get carried away. “I can feel the souls of everyone around me for quite a distance. It’s been a while since I have, but it’s not so difficult to do. When I sense their soul, I can feel what they feel. You know how some humans can see sounds in the form of color, or taste words? It’s a bit like that. Their feelings are like colors swimming in my vision. It can be overwhelming, but their anxiety helps lead me to Cassiel. When one first gets to Heaven, they’re upset because they died. Cas sorts them out, so if we want to find him, we first find the new souls.” He had to take a few deep breaths, as he barely paused throughout his explanation.  
Felicity blinked, and a grin formed on her face. “This AU is really fascinating.” She said, “That’s also kind of what AUTs have, but it’s more like invisible strings that we can feel. Like when two magnets are being forced together, it’s kind of like that pressure. Your ability sounds amazing.” She said. Nevo let out a slight scree, he felt giddy vibes.  
Warmth flooded his chest. It was nice to have someone that didn’t know everything about angels- his instinct was to teach. He was bad at taking compliments, though, so he changed the subject, “Um...so, we should find Cas. I don’t really remember how I activated it, but it shouldn’t be too bad…” His wings fluttered again, and it sent chills through his nonexistent body. “What do you want to do while you’re waiting? Maybe, uh...hmm...where’s Minus?” Ray definitely lost his confidence.  
Felicity tapped her chin. “He’s somewhere on Earth- in this AU, that is. He’s most likely at the apartment or he’s trying to figure out where the hell we are.” She said. “I have no way to contact him since my phone fell from my pocket during our great escape. Do phones even work here?” She asked, cocking her head to one side.  
“I’m not sure...Last time I was here, nobody had phones. I don’t think anyone does now. Probably no service. But...there are angels that help dead souls send signs to their living families that they’re in the afterlife. I suppose you could find one of those?” When his wings gave one last mighty flap, he was hit with a barrage of information that muted the rest of his senses. He couldn’t talk anymore, as so many souls moved around him.  
Every time he focused on a singular being, every feeling going through them appeared in his vision. A human would’ve been hospitalized and possibly declared brain dead if they underwent the same thing, but Ray hadn’t been human for a very long time. After what felt like a few minutes but could’ve been hours from Felicity’s perspective, Ray locked onto someone who felt confusion and anguish. Heaven wasn’t typically an unhappy place, so Ray knew to go towards it. If he left Felicity behind, he’d just have to apologize later...he couldn’t exactly tell her where he was going, after all. Grief danced black across his eyes, and the confusion was more of a cloud with undertones of blue. The overwhelming intake of information stopped when he came across the soul, and he was left to see Felicity standing beside him. She looked...ruffled.  
“Ray?” She said for the 5th time, waving her hand in front of his face. She didn’t exactly know what was happening. He had just stopped. It very much disturbed her. She furrowed her brow, not knowing what to do.  
“I found Cassiel,” he announced, trying to stomp down the crazy grin forming on his face- it didn’t work. “It’s a very short flight from here, but technically the person approaching him is not in any city near this one. The only reason I know where he is is because of the trajectory of the soul’s travel. When do you want to start moving?”  
“Um.” Felicity blinked. “I-I guess now?” She said. Nevo screed, sensing her distress. She was still unsure of what to do, since the- the blankness that Ray had been a couple seconds before.   
He noticed her confused expression, “The power. It activated, and I found a soul. Simple as that. Want to start flying?” Ray had no idea how insufficient that explanation was for his deadness, but he was stupid at times. What can you do?  
“Yeah- the sooner we can get out of this damned mess, the better.” She said. Felicity shuddered. It was like a cold hand had stroked her spine. She shrugged a feeling of dread away, she didn’t know the source, so she didn’t care for it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains yaoi!

Little did she know that that feeling of dread was sent from Minus. He slowly opened his eyes, his head throbbing. He couldn’t tell where he was. It was dark, and he was tied to a chair. “Hello. . . . ?” He called out.  
“You died,” someone announced from the shadows. When the man stepped forward, it was both relieving and upsetting to know that it was not Azrael, but Agent Greenwood. The man looked bored. “You’re not dead now. Do I need to elaborate?”   
Minus blinked. “Uhm. No.” He replied. Great. Just great. He was tied up in a chair in a dark room with a person whose presence he didn’t enjoy. “Aren’t you one of Ariel's men? Greenhouse or something?” He asked. He knew that this was Agent Greenwood of Azrael’s little army, he just felt like annoying the shit out of his captor. Minus sent another distress signal. AUTs in the same AU were slightly connected. If two AUTs were in the same AU, then they could feel each other's thoughts and emotions if they were strong. Right now, Minus was radiating a very heavy feeling of dread and annoyance. Most AUTs didn’t use this technique- but it was one Minus spent the time learning. He just hoped Felicity had too.  
Vann Greenwood decided to elaborate anyway, ignoring Minus’s prodding, “See, the fact that you died right in front of me, yet came back for your friends is very telling. If you died so gruesomely then, how many times do I get to kill you before they know something’s amiss? The boss gave me the OK. I could shoot you point blank if I wanted.” He twirled a gun in his hands- a Browning L9A1. Certainly not a bad weapon.  
Minus yawned, clearly not caring. “You can kill me all you want. But as soon as you pull that trigger, i’m just going to ‘die’ and respawn right back at my house.” He said, smirking. “I’m not a human. So I don’t die forever.”  
“You underestimate us,” Greenwood replied, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe down his gun. It was a dramatic gesture, probably one of the reasons Azrael hired him. “Obviously you’ll come back. You’re only here so the boss man can play the game he wants to play. Additionally, I’d love to ask you some questions, what with you being inhuman.”  
“Shoot.” He said, then added, “The questions I mean. I don’t feel like dying at the moment.” Minus studied Greenwood. The man dressed like he was a regular businessman, which made him look smart. His speech patterns sort of gave that away as well. Greenwood was tall and muscular, and looked a little on the weighty side, but it likely wasn’t from fat. His legs were the real muscle-y part, so it probably came from lots of field work. Despite his smart attire, his face was in that in-between phase of clean shaven and bearded. It would make him attractive if he didn’t kidnap people.  
“Okay, no gun for now,” Vann said, recklessly tossing his weapon behind him. It misfired on the way down, which probably made the agent’s ears suffer, but he seemed used to it. Hearing problems, then. “I’m interested, Minus. How exactly did you come back after dying? If we looked, would your corpse still be there?”  
“My corpse would not be there because it would have dissolved into dust.” Minus said. “The first part is harder to explain. It’s like, you angel people. If you die, you don’t die-die.” Minus released another distress signal, a heavier one this time. At times like this, he wished he had Felicity’s portal abilities. He was practically useless.  
Vann looked puzzled, sitting down on a table across from Minus. He clasped his hands, studying him, “‘You angel people’? I’m definitely not an angel. It amuses me to think you thought I was. My boss is the only angel on Earth right now, if he’s still here.”  
Surprised, Minus said “So you’re human?” Minus had assumed that all of Azrael’s accomplices would be of his own kind- but it’s Azrael. Minus could see him hiring a stripper for all he does. “That’s kinda lame if you ask me. But I guess people have their preferences.”  
The sound that came from Greenwood almost resembled a giggle, “What, you think he just hired me for the eye candy? You almost sound racist. You aren’t exactly far from human yourself, pal. Now...you’re saying you come back after death. Is there a limit on how many times you can do that? Something to do with your necklaces?” Felicity’s locket. Minus didn’t know if it was in the same building or if Azrael held on to it.  
Minus snorted. “Nah, mine’s for looks.” He said casually. “There isn’t a limit- it’s like a damn curse if you ask me. Not being able to die means no peace in the soul.” He said, trying to stretch, but his bonds held him back. He prayed to any Gods that were listening that Greenwood didn’t detect his lie. He was a pretty good one, better than Felicity. But Felicity was just trash when it came to lying.  
“For looks? Your locket is just for looks?” Vann raised his eyebrows, which is something nobody actually does unless they’re purposely provoking someone else. “Isn’t it Felicity’s life force? Her heart? Are you really saying that’s just her?” His expression changed into something dark and calculating. “Or are you lying to me?”  
Minus gave a sweet smile. “Honey, let me tell you something. Life force isn’t just stored in dam necklaces. Hell, my friend’s is in her anklet. I’ve got a sweet spot for Felicity- so I wear this thing because it’s a twin version of her’s.”  
Vann Greenwood’s face lit up like he’d just won the lottery, and he hopped up from the table, “Oh, Minus, Minus, Minus. For someone with a mathematical name, you really don’t think very well.” Then, he sobered a bit. “Huh...I sound like my boss. That’s not a good thing. Sorry, but anyway...it doesn’t matter if it’s in the necklace. What you just told me is that in two different cases, both your friend and Felicity had to have their life force on their body. Yours could be anywhere. I can just look.”  
Minus’s expression hardened, then he gave a slightly sadistic smile. Minus wasn’t entirely there himself- he was older than Felicity- way older in AU years, but age only determined your mental state for people who lived like this. So, like the gay boy he is, Minus winked at Greenwood. “You can check me, I have nothing to hide~”  
“That expression on your face makes me think you’ve got a dick piercing with the life force attached,” Greenwood muttered. “Oh, please don’t tell me that’s it. I’ll get it anyway, but I’d rather not look at you so in depth.”  
Minus didn’t say anything, just kept smiling. He was laughing internally. Oh, how he couldn’t wait to tell everyone this story. “So, how’re you gonna get it~?” He cooed. Minus’s life force wasn’t actually in his necklace. He had told the truth at that, his life force was actually a piercing. But which one? He had quite a few. Thank God he was wearing all his piercings. Minus wasn’t obsessed with body piercings. . . Ok that’s a lie. Minus had tons of the damned things. His ears were pierced all the way up, his belly button, nose, tongue, and nipples were all pierced.  
Vann smirked ever so slightly, which was not the expected reaction. He spoke cooly, “If you honestly think I have a problem with nudity, you’re less mature than I thought. Did you already forget who I’m working for? The man half thinks he’s in Europe.” Then, Greenwood crossed the room to pick up his gun and checked it for damage. “Now, Minus. I don’t want to make you strip at gunpoint so I can take all your jewelry. Just spare me the trouble and tell me the truth. Where’s your life force?”  
Minus’s smile widened. “You’d never guess~’ He said. Then he winked at Greenwood. Minus’s stomach churned. How long could he keep this up? He was getting bored. “Well, I guess you can.” Minus said, still not giving any hints to where it was.   
“I like how you assume your flirting is making me squeamish. I’m not twelve years old, friend,” Vann muttered, digging a pocket knife from his...well...pocket. “Want me to cut your ropes? I’m guessing it’s chafing you pretty bad. Then I can find every piece of jewelry, every piercing, from your body, and we can call it a day. Sound like a plan?”   
“Who says I’m tryna make you squeamish? After about 576 years of living, you get used to pain. Now, pain isn’t a weakness to me. It’s my,” He winked, “Kink.” Minus yawned. “I don’t strip in front of strangers, so these clothes ain’t gonna come off if you untie me. Well, I wouldn’t be taking them off.”  
Greenwood gave him a smile, and it was nearly impossible to tell whether it was fake or just sadistic, “Since we’re on such a lovely topic,” he began sharpening the knife, perhaps out of habit more than anything, “you should know that Azrael specifically told me not to have sex with the hostage. You must understand, it’s hard to keep myself entertained when most people are boring. Sometimes they try to seduce their way out of here, and sometimes I ‘accidentally’ let them through.” Vann glanced at him, the look on his face unreadable. “I’m not above human error, y’know?” Was Vann Greenwood flirting back?  
Minus let out a laugh, if he wasn’t bound, he would’ve slapped his knee. “Sex? Oh please- I meant I have seven more piercings under my clothes and my lifeforce might be one of them.” Minus shook his head, a smile on his face. “I gotta admit, this is one of the best kidnapping I’ve ever experienced.”  
Vann set down the knife, “Oh, I know you weren’t talking about sex. But, when you mention your kink, it’s not much of a leap. Minus, seven piercings is nothing to me. I don’t even care where they are. If you’re not going to help me out on this one, it might as well be fun.”  
Minus shrugged. “Guess you’re right on that one. Not much of a leap.” He agreed. “I’ve got things to do, so can we like, wrap this up? I don’t feel like being hostage much longer.”  
“It’s cute that you think you can do anything about it.” Vann’s voice contained no affection. “Right now, what’s done to you is completely up to me. You may as well cancel today’s plans.” He stood over Minus, crossing his arms. “It’s kind of your own fault. We got Felicity Fellen’s locket, so I don’t know why you assumed we wouldn’t do something similar with you. For research. I just really don’t think you can convince me to let you out without that life force.”  
“Guess I won’t be finishing Legend Of Zelda.” Minus shrugged. “When we die, and our life force isn’t with us- then it dissolves with our body. So ‘researching’ an AUT-” Minus stopped and frowned. Then he shook his head. It was as if he heard something mentally. Which, in this case, he did. It wasn’t a human, or anything useful. It was just Nevo being Nevo and sending out random signals. “-So researching us is simply stupid. If you’re doing it for immortality- I hate to break it to ya, but it’s not possible.”  
“Mhm. You’re right.” Vann nodded to further support this. “It would be very bad to kill you while I’ve got your life force. But, Felicity has survived this long without hers. I could always keep you alive and give it back periodically. Would be very beneficial.”  
“I assume that would work.” He said, acting as if he was considering it as a possibility. “But I could always just kill myself, or get killed and ruin your game.” Minus said, a smug look on his face. He laughed. “I guess I’m not too far from Ariel, am I?” He said. He’d have to remember to continue calling Azrael that. He liked pissing people off, so maybe this would piss Azrael off. Or it might not- considering his a sadistic psycho angel.  
Vann pretended to be impressed. “Wow, that’s really smart. Good luck killing yourself when you’re all tied up, though.” He went back to the table and sat down, looking bored. “So, shall I get those piercings from you, or are we stalling with hypothetical and stupid conversation?”  
Minus grinned. “I’m the hostage.” He said, “Do whatcha want~” Minus internally screamed in slight anger and annoyance. He just wanted to eat waffles with Felicity and play with Nevo. He shouldn’t have come to this damned world. It was annoying.  
“Right...how many piercings do you have? Or should I just wait and see?” Greenwood asked, hopping back up. He seemed to enjoy pacing around and leaning on tables. Maybe he used to be an interrogator. “I normally don’t disrobe others without asking first, but this is special. Wouldn’t you agree?”  
Minus just winked at Greenwood. “I have 26 piercings in total. As you can see, there is 8 on each ear- one in my eyebrow, nose and I have one on my tongue. Then the seven under the clothes. Those are surprises.”  
Vann smiled, “Oh, good. Surprises. Should I be expecting the dick piercing?” He approached, almost appearing awkward. “Um...is this shirt going to get caught on the piercings you’ve got on your face? Do I have to deal with extra hassle?”  
“I’ve got two on my dick,” He said. “The jewelry won’t be a hassle~” He said. Minus let out an internal sigh. How serious was this guy gonna get? Minus expected him to back off at this point. That’s what the other guys did in his previous jobs. Well, this guy worked for Azrael, so he shouldn’t have expected any less.  
“Hooray for the cock jewelry,” Vann grumbled, lifting Minus’s shirt above his head...and then realized that his hands were bound and would get in the way. “Well, great news. You get even more bondage.” He left the shirt bunched up around his wrists and moved to his pants. Then, Vann was left with the underwear. Poor Vann. He hesitated, hesitated, and Minus decided to be an asshole.   
“Kind of unfair, isn’t it?” Minus cooed, “I’d be naked and you’re not~” That was probably the reason Felicity rejects Minus, because he’s a bitch. It’s most likely the reason.   
“Don’t tempt me,” Vann snapped, and ripped away the underwear as well. Then he stepped back, examining the abundance of piercings. “Well, Minus, here we are. I have to say, I’ve seen worse. But...one question is on my mind: how the hell do you take the ones on your dick off?”  
Minus laughed in an evil-ish way. “You’re gonna hafta learn, buster. ‘Cause I’m not telling~” Minus shook his head. He remembered when he’d gotten them- he’d lost a bet. Two of them. Damn horse races.   
“If I mutilate your princess parts, it’s your fault,” Vann said gruffly, trying not to look for too long out of his remaining decency. “Kink or not, getting hurt down there really fucking hurts. You should probably help me out a little so I’m not touching you for longer than I need to.” Somehow, Agent Greenwood found a way to be somewhat polite in a kidnapping situation. Go figure.  
“It’s like taking off a belly piercing. I’m flattered you decided to get the cock piercings first.” Minus said, still being a bitch.  
“You do realize I can tell very easily that your flirting isn’t genuine and you’re just trying to bother me? ‘Cause all it takes is a look,” Vann said. “Besides, as I said: it’s not below me to have a little bit of fun while I’m working.”  
“I’m just being a bitch,” Minus said. He smirked. “That sounds like something I’d say, to be honest.” Minus isn’t like. . . most AUTs. Unlike Felicity, who does her jobs to gain friends, Minus does his jobs for fun and to give into. . . his desires.   
“Yes, you are being a bitch,” Vann replied, approaching. “Very much a bitch. Taking out all these piercings is going to be such a pain…” He paused. “Unless you escaped...and I didn’t have to deal with such a pointless task?”  
Minus raised a brow, “Oh~ A shame it would be if you had gotten distracted, am I right?” He cooed.   
Vann frowned, picking up his knife, but not aiming to attack. “This is unusual. I hope you know that. I’m very competent at my job, and I never end up getting sidetracked by other things.” Crazily, ridiculously, Agent Greenwood of Azrael’s task force cut the bonds on Minus’s hands. “I guess this is just a weird day. I meant to stab you in the heart, and there go your hands. Ah, and your legs. Looks like you’re untied.” He stepped back, looking uncertain. Minus was still gloriously (or, unfortunately depending on how you look at it) naked.  
Minus stood. “Aren’t all days weird?” He said, reaching for his now crumpled shirt. He’d have a better story to tell than Miles. Miles was another AUT. There were 12 in total, well- 11 now that one of them had the misfortune of colliding with a Voider.  
Vann frowned, sitting back onto the table, “I’ve never actually liked a hostage before. They were all annoying and stupid. You...are even more annoying and stupid, but honestly, it feels unfair to have this much of an advantage. The boss likes a challenge, and having you right here makes it easy. It’s not because you won me over.”   
Minus blinked. “Why thank you.” He said, pulling on his pants. Minus stretched his arms and popped his knuckles. He walked towards Greenwood. Minus then said, “Why don’t you kill me, for me?”  
Vann was startled, though it didn’t show, “Why would I do that?” He stared at Minus, trying to keep a blank expression. He reached back for his gun, calmly awaiting a reply.  
“Because,” Minus shrugged, leaning closer to him, “I want you to~”  
They were in a dark room, but Minus could swear that Vann’s pupils dilated, “Well, who am I to refuse?” He licked his lips, and put the gun to Minus’s forehead. “You’re going to get me into a lot of trouble…”  
“Or, I could stay here~” Minus suggested. “I have nothing better to do.” He smirked.  
Vann spoke, and his voice sounded tight, “That would get me into even more trouble. What exactly are you playing at?” He gripped the gun tighter, though his arms were slowly losing their resolve.  
“Well, like I said, I have nothing better to do. City’s nowhere to be found,” Minus said, “Plus, I’m bored~” He cooed. “Azrael would understand if I offered him a ‘gift’”  
“A-a gift?” Greenwood was losing his composure, the gun lowering to his side. None of the other hostages had this kind of power over him. He felt actual human emotion, which was kind of embarrassing. “What do you mean?”  
“I could easily convince City to go to a place, then Azrael ambush her and gets what he wants~” Minus said. He wouldn’t let Felicity get hurt, obviously, he would just- lend her.  
Vann blinked slowly, setting down the gun, “You wouldn’t-wouldn’t do that. She’s your friend.” He sounded pathetic, and mentally kicked himself. Minus’s actions were clouding Greenwood’s decision making skills.  
“It’s not like I’m killing her or anything. Plus, Felicity needs to learn that the worlds aren’t so kind.” Minus said, leaning closer to Vann. “And, like I said, I’m bored~”  
Vann felt like he was being played for a fool. He grabbed Minus by the collar of his shirt and glared at him, “I could actually kill you, could find your life force and pull it out, and you’re trying to fuck me?”  
Minus shrugged “Yeah,” He said. “I don’t really give a shit about dying. I’ve lived for a long time, honey. Plus, no one would miss me.” He said.  
“Your sad bullshit is killing my fucking mood,” Vann growled, leaning back. At this point they were basically lying across the table with Minus leaning so far forward. “So if you’re going to do a thing, do the THING.” He certainly wasn’t going to initiate it-that would make the ‘they seduced me :(‘ excuse a lot more difficult to pull off.   
Minus winked. “Then ignore it,” He said, then Minus leaned in and kiSseD tHe eNemY. The enemy kissed back, somewhat roughly seeing as he’s mean and very rude. Minus evidently didn’t mind.  
Minus grunted and slid his hand under Vann’s shirt. He was quite muscular. Minus liked his prey like that. Vann obviously liked him quite a bit as well, judging by the enthusiastic return to his kisses. He wrapped his arms around Minus’s waist, pulling away to complain, “Why did you put your clothes back on if we’re doing this?”  
“Cause I’m a stupid bitch,” Minus said. “But they can easily come off~” And with that, Minus lifted his shirt over his head, doing the same to Vann. The agent had several scars on his torso, but he didn’t seem embarrassed. Instead, he traced his hands over Minus’s sides, agreeing with his stupidity.  
“You were right about one thing,” Vann mumbled, kissing the side of his neck and talking against his skin, “It was very rude of me to see you without clothes while mine were still on. There’s still time, though.” He gracefully moved to unbutton his own suit pants, letting Minus mind his own business because Vann is not his slave. Then the big boy pants were off, and he was left in his plain black boxers. Not a very fun choice in underwear, but a practical one.  
Minus had managed to get his pants off, in contrast to Vann, he had yellow draws with a busy lined pattern on them. Minus kissed Vann once more, his hands tracing over lines on Vann’s body.   
“Take them off,” Vann muttered, clumsily moving to wriggle out of his underwear. “I saw your dick once and I’d like a closer look.”  
“Aye aye captain,” Minus said, stepping out of his boxers. In a quick motion, Minus removed his piercings, one of them being his life force. He tossed them on his pants, then converted his attention back to Vann.   
Normally very dignified and powerful, Vann was now a hot mess. His legs were very toned from running around constantly, and he looked like he could kick serious ass. However, his ass kicking abilities were severely limited at the moment. He grabbed Minus by the shoulders, kissing him. Then, he pulled away to say, “You, are, an incorrigible bastard.”  
“Thank you for noticing,” He said, kissing Vann’s neck, leaving nasty red marks. The previously tough guy agent groaned, almost melting under Minus’s lips.  
“If you like this then just wait till I get lower~” Minus purred, getting onto his knees.  
Vann Greenwood let out a shaky sigh at the thought of it, “Has anyone ever told you you have a very sexy voice?”   
“Many,” He said, gripping Vann’s cock. He began to tease. Vann tried not to squirm, but the other man was incredibly good with his mouth and hands. He let out several undignified sounds along the way, tangling his hands through Minus’s hair. It had been quite some time since he’d been touched like this.   
Minus had 500 years of experience with this kind of thing, he knew all the right spots and he knew how to handle almost everyone. Minus smirked. If Vann was just acting like this from teasing- Minus’s grin widened at the thought. Minus went balls deep with Vanns dick.  
Vann cursed, though obviously not from unhappiness. Minus was really good, which he couldn’t help being mad about. How was he meant to compete? Vann really didn’t have the ability to worry about such a thing when his cock was being handled by a madman, though. He bit his lower lip hard enough to make it bleed, tugging on Minus’s hair.  
“MM, You like this~?” Minus cooed. Though, it sounded more like ‘You ly tis’ with his mouth being full of dick and everything. Minus decided to go the extra mile with Greenwood. For some unknown reason, Minus felt obligated to give Vann the time of his life.  
“Ah, fucking hell,” Vann gasped, trying to remember how to exist. “Of course I like it! God, christ, where did you even learn how to…” He was convinced he was melting into a puddle of content goop. He raked his fingers across Minus’s scalp, trying not to push, as that would be impolite.   
Minus did another evil thing. He pulled back, taking a gasp of air. He stood, and leaned into Vann’s ear and whispered in a silky voice, “Lay down on the table,”  
Vann wanted to dissolve from that phrase alone. He did as he was told, lying back against the uncomfortable wooden table. He looked over Minus with dark eyes, trying to gain even a shred of composure, “What are you going to do to me?”  
Minus purred, positioning himself so he was over and on top of Vann. “I’m gonna give you the best fucking you’ll ever have~” He cooed, making more hickeys along his neck and shoulders.  
He definitely liked that idea, moaning as Minus literally made his mark. Things were already off to a great start, and they weren’t even on to the main event, whatever it may be. Vann ran his hands down Minus’s back, possibly leaving a scratch mark or two. How was he meant to know? He was busy.  
Minus moved to the otherside of his neck and shoulders. “Y’know~,” Minus said. He laughed. “I wasn’t expecting this to go in this direction.” Minus left more hickeys as he tried to grab the forgotten weapon. He wasn’t going to shoot Vann, no no. Just knock him out. “Sorry about this, big boy.” Minus said and struck him across the head with the back of the gun.   
Vann Greenwood was top of his class, the ultimate killer. He had more blood on his hands than any hitman or soldier. So to think that he was rendered unconscious by Minus, a goofy dumbass, was insane. The only way he could’ve let this happen while still retaining his skill was to allow Minus to get the upper hand...but what reason would he have for that if he never liked the hostages? He lay on the table, staring off into space and looking very foolish. Yep, Minus definitely had the upper hand.  
Minus crawled off him to get his clothing on. “Ya see, it’s not that I did it because I’m a bitch, it’s because I’ve got a close friend who is dying,” Minus put on his shirt. “I very much enjoyed it- best damned kidnapping i’ve ever had. Maybe we can meet up some other time~” He said. And with that, he was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> All characters are original. If they sound or act like some other character, it is coincidental. Fan art would be amazing- if you do fan art, please email me at hmarti9215@greenvilleschools.us


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